Bringing Home the Thunder
by eaglenation
Summary: "So perceptive about everyone except yourself." Frigga once told her son. But when Loki gets himself stuck in the middle of nowehere, he may learn more about himself than he ever expected to.
1. King

**It had not been Loki's plan to mutate a Midgardian. In fact, it was never his plan to end up on Midgard in the first place. But he did anyway. And now he is stuck helping a young Midgardian maiden master her powers, or else Thor might discover that he was still alive. And worse, discover the crimes he had committed.**

* * *

"What's that, Father?" Young Loki asked, curiously. He let go of his father's hand and ran to the little, ornate pedestal in the palace armoury. It was surrounded by a glowing aura, keeping people away from the little purple vial that stood on it.

Odin chuckled and followed Loki to where he stood now, watching the glowing purple object with wide eyes. "That, my son, is a potion that should never be used."

"What? Why?" Loki reached out his small hands in an attempt to grab the vial.

"No!" Odin roared, startling Loki, who's hand dropped before it could touch the force field. Then Odin, realising that he had scared his son, cleared his throat and said, in a quieter tone, "No, Loki. Do not touch it. It is a mutating substance from Hel."

"Cool!" Thor was suddenly by his brother's side, observing the substance too. "What does it do, Father?"

Odin smiled and patted his older son's head fondly. "Nothing important."

"Oh, come on." Loki scoffed. "It does _something_, you just don't want to tell us!"

"Loki, know your place." Odin said in a warning tone, pulling both his sons away from the pedestal.

"Please, Father!" Thor asked, making large, pleading eyes that he knew Odin could rarely resist. Loki crossed his fingers behind his back, wanting to know more. His insatiable curiosity demanded knowledge of what was in the vial.

Odin finally sighed."Alright. But you must promise me that you will never use the substance unless it is the end of time and the only way to stop it is to use it."

Loki nodded eagerly, his fingers still crossed behind his back, concealed from is father's eyes. "Yes."

"The vial contains a substance that will give an Asgardian unlimited powers."

"Wow…. Can I use than, when I'm king?" Thor exclaimed, reaching towards the vial.

"No, Thor. You didn't allow me to finish. The substance in the vial, if poured over an Asgardian, would give them unlimited powers for a few minutes. Then it would destroy them."

Thor's face fell. "Oh."

Loki grasped the information eagerly. His eyes wandered from the vial to his father and back, an idea forming in his mind. Thor caught his look, however, and shook his head. Loki made a face at him.

Thor then turned back to Odin. "Father, what do you keep if for?"

Odin smiled. "If ever there be need of its power, one brave warrior will be able to use it and save Asgard."

"I'm brave enough!" Thor exclaimed.

"No. I do not believe anyone is brave enough to die."

Just then, a small girl wandered into the armoury, unsheathing a dagger and placing it, along with a sword, on a long wooden shelf where weapons were kept. She turned to Thor and Loki with a grin.

Thor bowed mockingly. "Hello, Sif." He grinned. "Still trying to prove a maiden can be a warrior?"

The girl, Sif, rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. You're just jealous I beat you in hand to hand combat."

Loki watched their banter with amusement. They would both defeat him easily; it was why his mother, Frigga had begun to teach him to use magic to defend himself. He was too weak for a true battle. Unless…..  
His eyes trailed back to the vial of potion. If only he could somehow modify it…..

He waited until Thor and Sif had exited the armoury. Odin turned to him. "Coming?"

"Yes. One moment. I want to clean my dagger." Loki lied.

Odin nodded and exited after his older son, leaving Loki alone, surrounded by metal weapons he cared nothing for. He was merely interested in the purple vial. He reached out his hand, only to be stopped by the golden forcefield. He laughed quietly. Mother had taught him how to bypass these.  
He pressed his palm to the glimmering dome and concentrated, aiming to override the golden, protective magic with his own, mischievous and malevolent power. The shield flickered and turned green momentarily. He slipped his hand inside and snatched the vial, then let the forcefield turn gold again.

He walked out of the armoury, the vial heavy in his pocket. He could already feel the unlimited power radiating from it. Indeed, he would one day find a way to become the strongest. Maybe then he could become king. 

* * *

But those were childhood fantasies. Loki now sat in his ex-father's throne chamber, watching the Asgardian sunset with a smirk, while tossing a small crystal vial up and down. Every time he threw it up, the purple substance inside would catch the light, casting a momentary glow across the throne room.

He was finally here. He was finally what he was born to be. King.

And he was proud of himself, no matter how much pain he had to get through to get here. At least he'd gotten rid of that old senile fool that had pretended to be his father.

"Father." Loki scoffed. "You were never a father." He glanced down at the bloodstains that only slightly showed on the bottom of the throne. He didn't feel guilt for what he had done, just cold determination. He never felt guilt, but he still wasn't satisfied, either. What he had told Thor was true; satisfaction wasn't in his nature.

He knew, however, that that wasn't entirely true. His chest and lung was still mending after he got stabbed; the phantom pain still haunted him, the ghost of his sacrifice reminding him constantly of his weaknesses.

But he could no longer think about that.  
He stood and stretched, walking leisurely down his throne, flinging his long legs out in front of him as he strutted to a large window. He gazed out of Asgard. His kingdom. He glanced down at the vial in his hand with disdain. With sudden determination, he drew his arm back, about to fling it away, but then he hesitated. Power still bore an intriguing quality to him. He wanted to examine the substance further.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded out, vibrating through the golden throne room. Loki quickly hid the vial and concealed himself in magic, turning himself into Odin again. He put his arms behind his back and hunched his shoulders in grief he didn't feel.

"My King." Two soldiers bowed in front of him. Loki tried his hardest to keep the gloating grin off his face. Now _that_ would be un-Odin like. He didn't even remember his father's smile, much less a grin.

"Yes?" He shifted into a straighter position in a way that his father often would to hide his weariness.

"There is a problem with the Bifrost. I seems to be mal-functioning." One of the soldiers said.

"Is that so- I mean, of course. I am coming."

The soldiers bowed again and exited. Loki bit his lower lip momentarily, trying to bottle his frustration and annoyance, then headed after the guards and out of the palace.

He walked swiftly to the palace stables, where he was immediately handed Sleipnir to ride. His father's eight-legged horse was the only being on the planet that seemed to know he was not Odin, because it reared and snorted, trying to get away from Loki. A sarcastic grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I am sorry, my King. I am not sure why this behaviour has befallen him." One of the stable men apologized.

Attempting his father's demeanour, he said, "Do not worry. Sleipnir is merely having a rough day. I shall ride Loki's bay instead."

"Are you sure, my King?" The guard seemed concerned.

_If only he knew_, Loki thought. He said out loud, "Yes."

The guard nodded and in a second, Loki held the reins of his own bay stallion again. The horse nuzzled him affectionately, and he pushed it away. "Shut it." He hissed in its ear. "You're not supposed to like me. I'm Odin, you idiot."

The horse neighed softly. "Oh, shut up." He pushed against the animal's nose and grabbed the reins, bringing his horse into a quick walk before he mounted with ease. It seemed that to horses, he looked like Odin, but he didn't smell like Odin. He wondered briefly if there was some kind of _Eau de Allfather_ he could use. He almost smirked again at the thought. He had spent too much time on Midgard, it seemed.

He spurred the horse into a quick gallop and they took off down the rainbow bridge that led away from the castle and over the expanse of space.  
Suddenly, Loki saw himself again, dangling over the edge of the bridge from Odin's staff. He saw his father shake his head "No." He felt his fingers slip as the willpower to live escaped him. His life, a lie.  
The burning hatred in his mind flared anew, and he had to clench his teeth from screaming in frustration.

Loki arrived at the Bifrost gate imminently. He brought his stallion to a swift halt and dismounted quickly, only to remember that everyone around him did not see him as Loki, but as Odin, the old and fragile Allfather. And he remembered that he was not even riding the right horse.

"Where is Sleipnir, my Lord?" Heimdall asked. The gatekeepers golden eyes pierced through Loki's chest suspiciously. He had forgotten about Heimdall. His greatest mistake now, it seemed.

He needed a lie. And he needed one fast. "Sleipnir is tired, Heimdall. I brought him out for a hunt this morning, and it did not seem wise to bother him afterward."

To his relief, the suspicion in Heimdall's eyes faded, if only slightly. "Ah yes. Still thinking about Frigga, my Lord?"

"I feel her absence every waking moment," He sighed. Loki didn't have to pretend to mourn. If there was anyone he ever felt _gone_ from his life, it was Frigga.

Heimdall nodded. "So do we."

Loki handed his horses reins over to a guard and strode into the dome of the Bifrost gate. The golden walls cast glows in the early day light, creating captivating patterns on the ground beneath Loki's feet. The little mischievous personality was left in him wanted to sit there and watch them. But there was too little mischief in him left.

"You called me here for a reason."

Heimdall nodded, drawing the sword he used to open the Bifrost. "Yes. There has been strange interference on Midgard. We believe it is something left over from the Dark Elves attack on Midgard."

"It is quite possible." He nodded, trying to look interested. He watched the shimmering gate hum to life as Heimdall placed his sword in the stone meant to activate it. "What are the signs of this?"

"My sight is obscured to earth, but I sense trouble."

Loki walked closer to the gate, trying to determine if he could see anything. He saw nothing but metal, to his great disappointment. He did not have his father's power to see into other realms on occasion. He could look like Odin, but he would never have Odin's powers. He was too much Frigga's son.  
Trying to fight back another scream of frustration, he turned to Heimdall. "And what do you suggest we do? Considering the circumstances, if any trouble does break out on Midgard, it may affect other Realms and you will not see it."

"Those were my thoughts. I believe it is best to visit the location of the Dark Elves attack on Midgard and find whatever is causing this."

Loki suddenly began to have a rising feeling he had dug his own grave. "And who should go to Midgard, then?"

"I believe it is best if you go with a few guards. If you are not too weary, of course, my King."

His feeling of dread was confirmed. Saying no, however, might heighten Heimdall's suspicion further. A trip to Midgard would not hurt too much. He would find this object and return to Asgard in as short a time as possible. He could not risk being found by his brother. That would be the worst incident that could possibly befall him.

"I believe I am well enough. It should take my mind of Frigga and Loki…." Maybe he could now convince everyone that he was the rightful king to the throne. Once he had their respect, then he could commence his plan of ruling. He'd always been a good strategist; it was something that came with the power over magic and being the weakest of the litter. Even now, he was forming a plan in his mind.

"Have you any idea what I am to look for then, Heimdall?"

"Yes, my King. There is some sort of otherworldly object that must have been left on Midgard."

_And S.H.I.E.L.D or one of the Avengers hasn't found it yet? _Loki wondered. Truly, it mattered little to him that Heimdall could not see into Midgard. However, it worried him that this would stop Heimdall from alerting him if Thor was returning, which would pose a large problem. Even if his brother no longer wanted the throne, there was no doubt Thor would be quite angry if he found out what Loki had done. "And what sort of _object_ may this be?"

"Quite possibly a Kursed Stone or a piece of Dark Elf technology. Are you sure that you are fit for another mission? I could call to Thor-"

"Nonsense. Leave my son out of this." _Leave my brother out of this._ He corrected in his mind. "I can handle myself, old friend. It has been long since I have left Asgard."

"Very well. I shall activate the Bifrost. But I believe some Midgardian clothes would conceal you better, my Lord." Heimdall added with amusement.

Loki chuckled, while facepalming himself in his mind for his stupidity. "Yes, I believe so."

Odin had always struggled with magic, and so Loki had to pretend to struggle too, even though changing appearances for him was like walking; it took no effort. In moment, he had turned into an old Midgardian man; wearing an old jumper and jeans. "Guards!" He called.

Two guards immediately met him. "The two of you will accompany me. You will take the appearance of Midgardians too; however, keep your swords." He waved his hands over the guards, stripping them of their golden armour and changing them into young humans. He hoped no one had noticed the green tint to his power; he could not change it gold, like his father's magic. "Come. Heimdall, open the Bifrost. I will return shortly."

The Bifrost gate hummed to life, and Loki only had a quick moment to wonder about what in Valhalla he had gotten himself into. The rainbow tendrils of the bridge grabbed him and sucked him inwards, and he managed to catch Heimdall's golden eyes trained on him. There was deep suspicion in those old eyes; Loki got the feeling that Heimdall knew there was something wrong.

* * *

**Hello, dear readers! Many of you probably know me for my Warriors and Beyblade FanFictions and must be wondering what I'm doing, writing a Thor FanFiction.**

**In reality, I got this idea even before Thor: the Dark World came out. Loki's character had just been begging for some uncomfortable situations, and here they are. I always wondered how well Loki could possibly cope with the weight of leadership. We're about to find out, eh?**

**And damn, is it hard to write from Loki's perspective.**

**This will be a dual perspective story with around ten chapters, and don't worry; it will be devoid of romance, for now at least.**

**-eaglenation, over and out**


	2. Kaia

Loki and his company of two guards landed in the middle of nowhere.

"Where to, my King?" Asked the younger guard, a man whose name Loki vaguely remembered to be Vinn, though he did not recall where he knew his name from.

Loki responded, "The question is: where are we?"

They all glanced around. Heimdall had landed them in the middle of some sort of farming field. To Loki's right stood a small, shabby blue house with a red stable beside it. Strangely, the stable looked impeccable, while he could never imagine living in the house. Two giant draft horses grazed in a field, one black and one brown.

"I believe this must be the place that Heimdall believes to be the source of whatever is obscuring his sight." Loki mused. It was hard, trying to act wise and old, while is reality he wanted nothing more but to return to Asgard and sit on his well-earned throne.

"Where would you like us to begin our search, my King?"

The last thing wanted was a pair of guards ruining his plans or discovering he wasn't Odin. He needed to figure out a way to get rid of them. He didn't work well with others.  
All he wanted was to find whatever object Heimdall wanted and return home.  
"The two of you stay here and watch for any sign of trouble. I shall check the Midgardian barn. I believe that is a good place to start." Loki said finally.

Both guards bowed, not even blinking their eyes at his order. "Yes, my King."

Loki nodded and turned his back to them in time to hide his satisfied smirk, and set off towards the red barn, walking faster than his father could ever possibly manage. He didn't care if the guards thought something was wrong; he could kill them at moment's notice should need arise.

The red barn seemed smaller then it looked from a distance, and much less grand. A pair of strange, small and feathered Midgardian creatures hopped around in front of it, making squawking noises. Probably the earth equivalent of chickens. He kicked them away and entered the barn, turning himself invisible as he did.

The barn was quite large and well kempt. There were three animal stalls lining one wall, two of them empty and one occupied by a white gelding. The other wall was covered in stacks of pale hay. In one corner, a strange machine sat, looking like a long-forgotten spaceship. There was a second level to the barn, far above him. It was a small ledge with blankets and more machinery. A dark doorway led to other, unknown parts of the barn, away from the ledge. A dangerous-looking staircase led up to it.

The biggest shock to Loki, however, was that the barn was not empty.

A woman sat in front of the white horses stall, her knees tucked under her chin. She stared ahead. There were bruises on her cheeks and blood was dripping across one of her eyes, but she seemed not to notice. She looked, to Loki, as if she had just been in some wild battle and had emerged the victor. She had a fierce air, with dark skin, dark hair and vibrant green eyes. Her hair cascaded across her forehead and was unevenly chopped, as if she had cut it herself.

Something about the woman made Loki think a bit of his mother. She had the same demeanour, and even in a hunched position, she filled the barn with her presence.

He walked closer to her cautiously. He knew she couldn't see him, but there was always the possibility she might hear his footsteps.

Just then, another voice, deeper and more gravelly, exclaimed, "Shit!" From the ledge above the barn.

A tall man emerged from the dark doorway and stepped onto the ledge. He looked only slightly older than the woman; Loki couldn't place ages on them, as he knew little about Midgardian ages. He knew only they would die before him.

Loki could see that the man and the woman must be siblings.  
The man was still young, and so was the woman. The man had the same skin tone and eyes as the girl, but his hair was black and curly. He ran a hand through it and grumbled more swear words.

The young woman lifted her chin from her knees and grinned, looking up at the man. "What is it, Jasper? Have you been fiddling with that little rock-thing you found in London?"

The man, Jasper, crossed his arms and leaned against the barn wall. "Yeah. Stupid thing keeps making dinging noises and nothing besides." He spread his arms. "Ugh, come on! I just want to get out of this hellhole!"

"Aw, come on. At least we're not dying in a trench."

"Don't be so optimistic, Kaia. Our jobs are the only things that keep us from dying."

The girl, Kaia, smirked. "They don't do much to keep Dad sober."

"Well, I'm sorry. When he's drunk, he doesn't hit us. You, primarily." The man, Jasper, muttered. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

Kaia's face softened. The way she looked up at her brother made Loki think too much of the way Frigga used to look at him; with love and pity. "I know."

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm going to take Captain Spark out. Can you keep an eye out on my project while I'm gone? I don't want those pesky S.H.I.E.L.D agents poking their dirty little fingers in my business again."

Kaia shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's not like I can go home."

Jasper nodded. He walked down the ladder as if it were natural for him, even if the ladder swung dangerously from side to side. Kaia got up and let him pass into the white gelding's stall. The gelding pricked his ears as Jasper led him out of the barn. They passed a hair's breadth away from where Loki stood. He almost panicked, only to remind himself that the humans couldn't see him. He had almost forgotten he was invisible.

As soon as the Midgardian man was gone, the girl sat down on the base of the ladder, her keen eyes observing the whole of the barn. She pulled a notebook out of her back pocket and began to scribble on it.

One thing had caught Loki's attention. The man had spoken about S.H.I.E.L.D. Which would have to signify that Jasper had something that he shouldn't. There was a large possibility that it was the object obstructing Heimdall's sight.

There would have been no problem to this, but for the fact that the woman now sat on the base of the ladder, blocking the only means of reaching the ledge above the barn from which the man had come.

He would have to use his magic. The guards would be getting restless, and they might be worried about their senile old king. They might even think he went into the Odinsleep. Or had a pesky human heart attack.

Whatever the case, Loki would have to move fast. He headed for the ladder and used his magic to evaporated as he passed through the woman. He felt her shiver and grinned.

He ran up the ladder, starling the woman as it bounced. She looked up and then back at her notebook.

Loki reached the ledge in a second and walked through the dark entryway. On the other side was a continuation of the barn; a tower filled with hay and feed. On one side, however, there was a desk lain with equipment of different sorts; human technology. Loki could feel the powerful pull of one of the objects located there, and he immediately knew it wasn't from Midgard. It was a large, opaque, dark blue stone about the size of half his fist.

Loki had to pause a moment and lean against the wall as he remembered the Dark Elf weapon stabbing through his chest. It had radiated the same kind of power. He remembered the darkness as he thought he was dying, death's arms reaching out to him as he struggled to remain alive.

Suddenly, his chest compressed, as if it were being wrapped by the tentacles of some monster. His breath came out in short gasps. His heart and lungs flared in phantom pain.  
He was dying again. Dying, in Thor's arms. He struggled to catch himself on the wall before he collapsed to the ground, panting. He needed air. _You're not dying. Not anymore_, he reassured himself.

He pressed the palm of his hand against his chest, breathing in and out, until the pressure disappeared.

His heart was still pounding at the event.  
"What was that?" He muttered through clenched teeth. He watched the glowing blue stone with a sort of weariness now. He suspected it may have triggered the events. Surely, he wasn't insane enough to believe himself to be dying?

He approached the cluttered desk. It was covered in metal parts and manuscripts. A humanoid object stood in the corner, watching him with onyx eyes.  
He reached out cautiously towards the stone.

He would return the object to Asgard and order it destroyed. All would be well. "Not that my life as ever been well," He chuckled morbidly.

He placed his palms around the orb, expecting another attack, but nothing happened. Slowly and more surely now, he brought the stone to eye level. It was definitively a piece of Svartalfheim technology.

He reached for his pockets, only realise that even though he was invisible, he was still in Odin's human form. Cursing under his breath, he changed into his usual form and stretched. Oh, he hated his father's cramped old body. Doing so, he momentarily turned visible.

His greatest mistake ever since he had become ruler.

A woman's stifled shriek greeted him as he turned towards the exit. Kaia, the maiden from before, stood in the doorframe, her hands over her mouth.

Loki tried to put on his nicest smile. It was a pity he never practiced it; he knew immediately that whatever he had just done with his face looked nothing like a smile.

"Y-you're- oh my God. You're that guy who at- attacked New York!"

"Hello, my name is Loki?" Loki offered. He was hoping the young woman would run away and leave him. Or maybe she would turn her back to call her brother, giving Loki the chance to turn invisible.

She did none of those things. She slowly reached her hands into her pocket and pulled out an engraved knife.

"It's not in my plans to kill humans today." Loki said cautiously. Her death would alert too many people. It might even alert his brother. "If you could just put the dagger away, I will do you no harm. I swear on my title as King of Asgard."

The woman bit her lip. "But you're not King."

Loki sneered at those words. His father had said the same thing, and now he was dead. "How would you know?"

Kaia's hand didn't waver a bit. "Get away from my brother's experiments. Even_ I_ don't know what those do."

"Do you not?"

"I will hurt you." Kaia cautioned. She sounded confident as she said it, though Loki could see the fear in her eyes.

"I don't doubt it. Tell me, can you even use that weapon properly?"

She shook her head. "I've never had the chance, actually. Let's see if I can, shall we?"

"I am leaving. I promise. In a moment, I'll be gone, and you can pretend you never saw me, agreed?" As he spoke, Loki slowly inched towards the door.

"Why- why are you even here? What do you want from us? We have nothing!" Kaia advanced on him.

"I said….I'm _leaving_!" With a grunt of effort, Loki hurled himself at her and through the door, aiming to land on the ledge. As he did, the vial of purple liquid flew out of one of his pocket. He cursed loudly He'd forgotten about the Hel potion.

He threw his arm blindly into the air in an attempt to catch the vial. He skidded on his stomach at the same time as the cork from the vial uncapped itself and the liquid from Hel was unleashed from the bottle. It flew in a dazzling ark, splattering the barn floor with microscopic droplets. Loki only had a moment to part his lips in a warning scream before Kaia reached her arms out instinctively to catch the vial, and the liquid splattered over her arms.

Loki used that moment to turn himself invisible and sprint out of the barn.

* * *

****

Oh damn, Loki has really messed up. Is he going to just ditch Kaia and Jasper? Why are the siblings in a barn? What is Jasper doing with his inventions?

**Review to find out quicker!**  
**-eaglenation, over and out**


	3. Mischeif

Loki sprinted out of the red barn as fast as his long legs could carry him. His sped across the farm field, away from the red barn and the old house, and kept running until he reached the guards, who were still waiting patiently where he had ordered them to.  
While he ran, he had managed to turn himself back into Odin, so when he tripped and fell on his face, at least it looked convincing.

One of the guards helped him up from the ground. "Are you alright, my King?"

"Yes, yes. I am fine. I have not felt so alive in the last thousand years! It seems what I needed was a bit of action." Loki lied quickly. In reality, he had scraped his knees and arms into bloody masses, but he could heal that easily enough.

"What did you find, my Lord?" Vinn, the younger guard, asked.

Loki answered, "I found a stone from Svartalfheim. It seems like some sort of signal receptor. It must be destroyed."  
He wondered if he should warn them about the strange effect the stone had had on him, making him re-live the moment of his death. He thought better of it, however, because he didn't care much what happened to the guards; one guard more or one guard less never made a difference.

He suddenly heard a scream coming from the barn. His head darted around, and a sudden feeling of dread filled his chest. Had he condemned the maiden, Kaia, to her death? He did not want to think about it. He usually cared little for humans, but he kept thinking about how much the young woman made him think of Frigga.

"What was that?" Vinn unsheathed the sword he had concealed in his human clothing. The other guard put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, then looked at Loki.

"What should we do, my King?"

"It is fine; I left a little mess retrieving the stone. It is nothing." Loki shook his head. "There were no humans injured, I assure you."

There was sudden, frantic yelling and the panicked neighing of a horse. Loki whipped his head around again, and he suddenly realised what a terrible mistake he had made, letting the girl see him. Why hadn't the potion killed her yet? Ten minutes had surely passed.

Worse, though, he was frustrated over the loss of the Hel potion. He wanted to return and observe its effects it had on the human. Maybe he would even be able to retrieve it or modify it to gain more power without dying. Then he could truly become the King of the Nine Realms.

He turned his head back to the guards to see them staring at him in open-mouthed stupor. "What is it?" He questioned.

"Loki." Vinn hissed.

"Do not give me false hope. My son is de-" Suddenly, Loki realised that he had completely lost his concentration while thinking about Kaia; his magic had faded, revealing his true form. He looked down to see himself in his usual leather coat black and gold and green armour. "Well, shit."

Both guards flew at him in the same moment. He unsheathed his dagger and prepared to intercept them. He caught the first guard easily, moving to the side and tripping him. The guard toppled, and Loki elbowed him in the back of the head, sending the guard sprawling. He turned to face Vinn, who was a much more skilled swordfighter than his peer. He managed to intercept Vinn's first attack on his dagger. However, not having another sword or a shield to defend himself, Vinn's next attack made contact with his shoulder, slicing through the leather. He felt hot blood trickle across his skin.

"My, you are good." He complemented, parrying Vinn's thrust and disappearing. He reappeared behind the soldier and caught him in a headlock, pressing down on Vinn's unprotected throat. "But you have forgotten that I have magic."

Vinn struggled, his face turning blue as he groped for air. Loki looked down at him smugly. "Now, here is my deal. Vinn – that is your name, right?"

The guard nodded his head feebly.

"I'll let you go, but you must promise to listen to me. Swear on your warrior's heart."

"I- s-swear." Vinn gasped.

Loki let him go. "That's more like it. I don't feel like spilling any more Asgardian blood."

"Traitor." Vinn hissed.

"No!" Loki spat back in fury. "I am not a traitor. Don't you dare accuse me of that." Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat. "I need your co-operation, Vinn."

"I'd rather die!" Vinn spat.

"I might just consider it." He laughed darkly at the panicked looked that crossed Vinn's face. "Look, I really don't want to cause any more trouble than I already have. I've caused more mischief than I can manage- and don't ever tell Thor you heard me admit that."

Vinn relaxed slightly and grinned. "I swear."

Loki felt himself smile lightly too. "I see I have your trust. I need you to listen careful, alright?"

"Do not think I trust you _too_ much, Prince Loki."

"That's _King_ Loki."

"You do not deserve that title."

"_You_ don't deserve to live!" Loki seethed. Then he sighed, running a hand through his black hair, smoothing it against his scalp. He was already weary. "I thought we had an agreement."

"We do." Vinn sighed. "I am listening, my_ King_." He said the final word with venom.

"Alright. My proposition is simple. You will return to Asgard as Odin. And- before you say anything- I do realise that I could just return to Asgard myself. However, there is something I would like to find out."

"What if I'm discovered by the real Odin?" Vinn inquired a note of panic in his voice. "What have you done with him, anyway?"

Loki laughed sarcastically. "Oh, you won't have to worry about my dear Father."

Vinn's eyes widened. "What _have_ you done?"

"More than I should have, less then he deserved." Loki answered. "Don't distract me. Anyway, I will return to Asgard shortly to take your place."

"What are you going to do while I risk my arse for a false king?"

Loki sighed, playing with his dagger. He paced back and forth in front of the young guard. "I like you, Vinn. I respect your bravery. So please, do not push my anger further."

"Forgive me, _my King_."

"Are you done?" Loki brandished his dagger again. Vinn flinched. "Like I said, I will disguise you as Odin. I know that you are the son of an Asgardian Lord, so you must know enough to play King for a while."

Vinn narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, please. Do you not remember me? We used to play fight together, Vinn Cadmusson." It was true. Loki finally remembered where he knew the young guard from. He often remembered the faces of his sparring partners from his younger years.  
Before his mother had taught him to use magic, he had often fought with the younger children because children his and Thor's age were much too strong for him.

Vinn laughed. "I do remember! I thought you did not."

Loki shook his head in pitying amusement. Vinn must have been the worst choice to pose as Odin, but it wasn't like he had another.  
"Vinn, I need you to focus. Give me two weeks, that is all I want."

"Why?"

Loki thought of the potion. "There is something- I need to retrieve."

"Alright. I will not inquire further. And anyway, the concept of being the Allfather for a bit has a certain appeal."

Loki smirked. "Does it not? But you must avoid any situations in which magic is required. And avoid Heimdall even more. He suspects there is something wrong with Odin already. Thankfully, he did not see what I have done here because his sight is gone."

"Yes, and about that. Did you truly find the object that was causing trouble?"

"Yes." Loki withdrew the stone from his pocked. "Give this to Heimdall. And take him," He poked the other fallen guard with his foot, "With you. If you fail, Vinn, I will have to kill you."

Vinn put one arm across his chest and bowed. "I may not trust you, but I must respect you, Loki. I see quite a challenge ahead of me."

"Do not disappoint me." Loki waved his hand over the guard, and suddenly, he was facing his father again. He flinched when Odin spoke.

"Let us hope this works, for my sake and for yours. Good luck on whatever you aim to do." Odin/ Vinn grinned in a very un-Odinlike manner. Then he lifted his head, tucked the Dark Elf stone in his pocket, and called out in a deeper voice, "Heimdall, open the Bifrost!"

Loki stepped back to watch Vinn, now disguised as Odin and the fallen guard vanish with a thundering boom. He only hoped the sibling from the barn had not heard it.

Then he turned and walked slowly towards the red barn. Loki was the God of Mischeif, after all. And he had all lot of mischief to cause and even more of it to fix.  
Something about the adventure he was about to have held more appeal to him than even Thor had when he had asked Loki to find the Dark World. He had a feeling that if he did not succeed quickly, there was a large rick of his brother finding out that Loki was still alive. And even though he planned to tell his brother someday, he wanted to relish his throne as long as possible.

His throne that now lay in the hands of a young, bubbly guard.

"And what in Valhalla have you gotten yourself into, Loki?" He mumbled.

He had to get his priorities straight. He would find a way to retrieve the substance. If he did not manage to, he would observe what happened to the Midgardian girl. If nothing happened, he would return home, relieve Vinn of his duties, and reclaim his throne. If Kaia died, he would cover up her death (maybe even frame her brother) and make sure Thor never found out about it. It was a simple, straightforward plan.

"Yeah, I'm screwed." He muttered in human fashion. He had heard Jane foster say it once.

It was then that he realised that he had stayed on earth because he would be free of Asgard. The Realm held too many memories for him now; his mother's death, the cell he had been kept in, the casket of the Jotuns, falling off the Bifrost bridge.  
He wanted to leave his past behind. He had always thought death was the answer to what he wanted. But here, on Midgard, he could become anyone. He was no longer Loki, the fake prince of Jotunheim, stolen relic from a ruined Realm; he was just another human.

Maybe that was why staying behind a while longer held such appeal to him. Maybe he could simply _forget_.

* * *

****

There you have it! I know, the plot is a bit iffy, but give you'll understand Loki's choice in time. I know there are a couple loopholes here and there, like "Why couldn't Loki have just gone to Asgard and pretended nothing happened?" or "Why is he really staying behind? It seems un-Loki_**ish**_**." You might even be wondering what Vinn's role is in all this.**

**The answer will come in time. Let the plot work itself out; I have it all planned, dear readers. I'm a master strategist, sort of like Loki. Except that I'm not planning on attacking New York with an alien army that can be easily destroyed.**

**-eaglenation, over and out.**


	4. Power

My veins were turning purple.

I had watched in sort of awed panic as the purple liquid splattered across my arms. But Jasper was going to be furious with me; the black-haired man stole the stone he had found in his trip to London. He had been hoping to use it as an energy source to power his little humanoid robot.

But I didn't worry about that. My veins were turning purple.

And it wasn't just the fact that the liquid that ran my body was turning a different colour. It brought with it a sort of stinging-tingling sensation that terrified me. It felt similar to the feeling you get when it was really cold outside, and your fingers are cold, so you go inside and make the horrible mistake of sticking your fingers under hot water.  
I let out a scream as the feeling spread, reaching my heart. I felt my heart falter, and then my chest began to ache as my heart restarted, beating in a slightly faster rhythm. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes became much more painful.

I clutched my fingers to my chest as I heard a whinny from the main part of the barn. Jasper and Captain Spark, his prized standardbred gelding had returned. Jasper must have heard my scream, because there was no way he would have returned so quickly, otherwise.

I was right; it was a moment, before Jasper burst into his tiny little office-thing in the barn tower. "Kaia, are you alright?" He yelped.

I smiled at his worry, and then held out my hands.

He stared at them in awe. "What on earth…..were you messing around with my things, Kai?"

I grinned, though my fingers hurt intensely. "You know I wouldn't."

"Then what in the world….What the hell, Kaia?"

"I don't know, okay? I heard footsteps in here, so I ran up to see what was happening and there was this guy-" I paused to take a breath, clasping and unclasping my fingers while pacing to keep the pressure of my feet. "You know the guy who attacked New York?"

Jasper stared at me, puzzled. I knew I was acting weird, but come on, my veins were turning purple, for God's sake! He sighed and said, "Yes… the Norse god. Loki, was it?"

I couldn't keep it together any longer. "He was here, Jaz! He was here and he took your rock thing-ma-jig-"

Only now did my dear brother panic. "Shit."

"Yeah. Well, he was here."

"Here. A Norse god that took six superheroes and all of S.H.I.E.L.D to defeat. Here. Come on, Kai, I know you were playing with my things. Stop lying."

"But I'm not!" I yelled.

"Well, I'm sure you haven't touched father's liquor, but maybe you must have-"

"Jaz." I stopped him and held my palms up in front of his face pointedly. "Jasper Coast, my veins are frickin' _purple_. This has nothing to do with alcohol. Or your experiments. Have I mentioned I'm in huge pain? So stop with your scientific stuff."

That brought out the fatherly instinct in him. "What hurts?"

"My fingers and toes. They hurt like damn. Now will you let me tell you what happened so we can decide on my date of death?"

"God, Kaia. Are you sure you saw the Loki dude."

"No, Jasper, it was Tony Stark." I said with sarcasm.

Jasper's face lit up. "Really?"

"I wish."

We both fell silent, staring at my hands in a strange awe. He still didn't fully believe me, which was understandable. I wouldn't believe me either. I still had trouble putting two and two together. "Jasper, he was here. And I don't mean a man dressed like him. I'm pretty sure it was the actual guy."

"Kaia, are you lying?" He asked, watching my face as if I were an intricate machine of his. I sighed, choosing my words carefully. "Jasper, listen. I walked in, the guy was here, putting your stone in his pocket. He turned and saw me and- and- well, I pulled my knife."

Jasper laughed and shook his head. "Oh, Kaia."

This bothered me for some reason. He was treating me like a child again. "Jasper, careful reminder than I'm a graduated veterinarian aged twenty four, okay?"

"You pulled a decorative, antique knife on a guy with superpowers and an army. " He shook his head even harder, then put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched as his contact with my skin caused my shoulder to begin burning along with my fingers and toes.

"Sorry. Bruises?" He asked.

I shook my head. For the first time, my pain wasn't my father's doing. "No. It hurts. I mean, whatever that liquid was-"

"What liquid?" Jasper cut me off.

I rolled my eyes at him in exasperation. He could be so narrow-minded. "You didn't let me finish my story, so you don't know."

Answered Jasper, "Fine. So tell me, then."

"Well," I began, "As I was saying," I clenched my teeth as the pain in my fingers flared. "He was here. And so I threatened him, but he made a dive for it- he had this-this vial in his pocket. I don't know why, but it fell out and came flying towards me."

"Shit." Jasper said.

"Not. Done. Dammit, Jaz." I said pointedly.

"Fine."

"The liquid inside hit my arms and it got absorbed through my skin, and then _this_ happened." I gestured wildly with my hands.

I could see the gears in his mind turning. "Okay. What are the variables? I mean, I don't even know if I should believe you, but my stone is gone. The truth is, there are very large chances that whatever that was was an otherworldly substance. Unless this was some sort of sick joke, but I doubt it considering that you're vains are-"

"Purple. Newsflash." I said sarcastically.

"Yes." He answered. We proceeded into another silence. I tried to take my mind off the burning in my libs; it was beginning to fade, thankfully, and with it my panic.

"So….." We sid suddenly at the same time, then laughed.

"Wow." Jasper said. "I mean, what are the odds?"

I shook my head. My mind was still reeling from the events of a few minutes ago. He had been right there….and then he was gone.

"Do you think I should go to the doctor?" I said tenitavley.

Jasper hid face in the palm of his hands, resting his forehead on his fingers. "I don't know, Kai."

"How about the police?"

He didn't answer.

"S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Absolutely not."

We proceeded into yet another quiet moment. After a minute or so, I got up. The pain was gone by now, but it started again in the soles of my feet when I stood up. I leaned against the wall wearily. "I'm going to go bring the horses in. It looks like it's going to rain."

He smiled at me from between his fingers. "Don't bring home any thunder."

"Don't worry." I headed out the door and walked down the ladder cautiously. I was slowly getting used to the feeling in my feet. Whatever had happened to me, it must have had no side effects other then tainting my blood, because I felt normal.

I walked across the barn floor, stopping briefly at Captain Spark's stall. Spark looked at me mournfully, then gave my hands a sniff, pulling air in gently through his nostrils. As he did, I watched the outside. The sky was darkening.  
When the summer ended, I'd be starting a new job in a veterinary clinic where I'd been accepted, but until then Jasper and I still lived on Jasper's Seven/Eleven income and Dad's small unemployment pay, which Dad wasted on alcohol.

Jasper and I began to worry when his problem got so bad he began to beat me up whenever he got the chance, and it got worse and worse. There was not much I could do, because Dad could always throw me out of the household.  
I finished my studies and moved into the barn with Jasper, finally.  
That was why I always carried a knife.

I patted Spark's muzzle and headed outside, walking to the field where we kept out two workhorses, Sleipnir and Eaglebeats. I love those two horses. They were the reason I had not yet moved to the other side of the earth. Jasper and I saved the mare and gelding from our drunken old neighbour, who had been mistreating the horses. We found them half-starving, bought them from him and nursed them back to health. We didn't tell Dad. He was too drunk to care.

Captain Spark had once been Dad's horse.

I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled, then called, "Sleipnir! Eaglebeats!"

I was immediately greeted with Sleipnir's whinny. The black Clydesdale greeted me with his head over the gate. I rubbed him between the eyes and grabbed his bridle, while calling out again, "Eaglebeats! Eagle!"

It took the mare a bit longer to come over. She had been the most damaged by her former owner, and so she was the most squeamish around humans. I had her trust, however.

I knew she would follow Sleipnir, so I opened the gate and walked Sleipnir out. Eaglebeats followed him obligingly, her head nearly touching his tail. I walked them into the barn.

I put Sleipnir in the stall beside Spark and brought Eaglebeats into her stall beside Sleipnir. I locked all the horses in, fed them, and headed back to the house to check on Dad. I still had my knife, just in case.

I walked out of the barn again, headed for what had once been my house, growing up. I try to avoid going in there as much as possible ever since the last beating I took.

I made my way across the horse's field as a short cut. I vaulted the fence on the other side and continued to my house.

I walked up the steps and opened the door. The first thing that met me was the stench of liquor. I walked in quietly, closing the door behind me. The dark green foyer was littered with beer bottles.  
I picked them up and walked to the kitchen, which was filled with beer cans and more bottles, this time stacked in orderly rows. Dad and I had a deal; the half of the kitchen that had the stove, microwave and refrigerator were mine. The other half of the kitchen, which contained the beer cooler and the cupboards, was Dad's.  
Of course, it was Dad's side of the kitchen that was littered with beer can and bottles.

I stomped my foot down on the pedal on the trash can and tossed the beer bottles out. I then went to the sink and grabbed the kettle beside it, filling it with water and setting it to boil. Once that was done, I carefully made my way to the living room.

Sure enough, Dad was sprawled across the sofa, asleep. The smell of alcohol was the strongest here, because it was Dad's favourite place to drink. The white paint chipped off the walls, and all the pictures hung on angles, smashed and broken. The old television lay on its side.

I'd have moved out of this stinkin' place long ago if it hadn't been for the horses and my lack of money. I had a dream that maybe one day, Jasper and I could redecorate and re-paint the house. Maybe then it would lose the horrible memories. Maybe then Jasper could realise his dream of becoming a master in robotics and I could live peacefully.

I flinched suddenly as I remembered Dad's hand across my face two days ago. I touched the scratch above my eye; I had scratched it open earlier today and it had left a blood stain above my eye. I would have to take a quick shower before Dad woke up.

I walked through the living room carefully and out the other door, walking to the rickety staircase that led to the second level. The roof to the bedrooms capsized two years before; the only thing that was left was the bathroom.

I closed the door and locked it firmly before stripping off my barn clothes. I examined myself in the mirror; sure enough, all the veins that were visible beneath my skin had turned a dark, reddish purple. It was curious. I traced them along my body with my eyes, watching them disappear under my skin. I pressed my fingers to the vein in the crook of my elbow; it throbbed like an old bruise.

I shook my head and showered swiftly, then changed into fresh clothes that I kept in a cupboard far from Dad's reach along with all my other things. I brushed my teeth and splashed water over my face, then pulled a brush through my hair, causing it to stick out in all angles thanks to static.

I then made my way back downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing a cup, putting an Earl Grey teabag in it and filling it with hot water from the kettle. I put my hands around it momentarily and breathed in the smell.

Suddenly, a crash in the living room alerted me of the fact that my dad had woken up. I poured the contents of my cup into an old thermos and ran out the door. Behind me, I hear him shout, "Sarah? Where's that nasty little daughter of ours?"

I tried to keep the tears from my eyes as I walked back to the barn.

When I vaulted over the fence again, the pain in my feet started up again. I continued to walk, ignoring it.

In a second, the pain had grown into a huge throbbing that nearly toppled me over. My heart began to pound, and my chest flared in panic as the pain didn't stop. It grew until I couldn't stand anymore. I crumpled to the ground, trying to keep the pressure off my body in all places possible, but it would not work. I dropped my thermos full of tea onto the muddy ground. I yelled into gritted teeth, clenching my fists in the grass, hoping the pain would subside. I couldn't open my mouth to call for Jasper. I couldn't do anything, even as icy cold rain began to fall from the darkening sky.

Second turned to minutes, and it felt as if the minutes were hours. Finally, the pain began to recede. I hissed and moved my fingers before me, willing my body to work again. I rolled my shoulders and blinked the tears of pain out of my eyes.

That's when I realised there was somebody standing above me, and it was not Jasper.

"So, you survived." A calm, deep voice said above me.

I scrambled back in panic and then leapt to my feet. Sure enough, in front of me stood the man that I had seen in Jasper's lab. I finally got a good glimpse at him. He was tall, with a straight nose, black hair and cold, green eyes. He was dressed in something you might see at a medieval festival; a leather coat that criss-crossed in an intricate pattern over his stomach, edged with gold metal and green fabric.

I was not impressed. I was in panic.

"Sta-stay away from me!" I wasn't proud that my voice shook, but I was still suffering from the lingering effects of my strange attack.

"I just want to reclaim what is mine." He said, stretching out his hand. Metal glinted in it, a small, silver dagger.

I did not want that thing in my body. "Get away from me!" I scrambled for my own knife, but I must have dropped it on the ground, because I did not find it in my pocket.

He looked down at the dagger he was holding and his lips stretched into a sadistic grin. "No."

"Damn. Damn." I cursed. "Jaspe-mhm!"

As soon as I began to yell for my brother, the man disappeared in a flash of green and reappeared behind me, putting a hand over my mouth. "Clever. Don't call for your brother; brothers are never there when you need them. Trust me, I know."

I struggled against his hand, trying to get it off of my mouth. In a final, desperate measure, I brought my leg up behind me, kicking him right between the legs, and rolled across the muddy earth. I came up on all fours to watch him advance on me, grimacing.

Time slowed as I raised my hands to protect myself. The rain slowed to a stop around me as the man advanced.

Suddenly, we both halted in awe.

Around me, the droplets of rain had literally stopped. Somehow, without touching them, I knew they were rock-solid. I moved my hands, and the droplets elongated slowly. It took me a moment to realise that this was my doing, that I had made the rain stop. I brought my fingers together and the drops condensed into razor-like points, all aimed at the man –Jasper had called him Loki- and glinting viciously.

Loki grinned, looking calm, even with a thousand tiny points aimed at his face. "Well, it seems that this is what the Hel potion does to humans."

I kept my hands steady, though they shook. With every shake, one spike would turn to water again and splash on the ground. My heart pounded with the pressure. "What?" I asked, trying to keep my calm. "Is this the doing of that purple stuff?"

"So it would seem." He reached out and touched on of the spikes. "Sharp, and not at all cold."

I frowned. "So you don't know what that stuff does?"

He shook his head. "I know what it does to Asgardians, but not to meager Midgardians like you."

"Meager? Meager my butt! I have a hundred points aimed at your chest." My hand shook again, and a single spike whizzed at him and impaled itself at the ground between his feet. Loki jumped a little, to my satisfaction.

"I've noticed." He said with venom. "But you cannot control it, can you?"

"Well, no." I laughed, trying to sound confident. "I mean, my veins turned purple and I get random attacks of pain, but so far, I didn't think your potion- Hel potion, right?- did more than that."

"You were wrong."

I nodded shakily. "I was wrong."

"I wonder…..is it possible for you to control this- dare I call it- power?" He mused.

And idea slowly began to form in my head, if only it was scientifically possible. "Can you teach me to stop this- whatever is happening to me?"

He looked at me curiously, as if it were very rare than anyone ever asked him for help. "Well, if it does not kill you. I wonder if it is possible-"

My hand wavered, and another spike shot at him. He moved aside with astounding grace, and the spike narrowly missed the place his head had been. "I don't see any use of it to me."

I want to laugh out loud at the irony of his statement. "Well, if you could teach my how to stop these spikes from being, er, spikes, I wouldn't shoot them at your ass."

He scoffed. "Midgardians."

"Norse Myths." I replied with venom.

"Asgardian Gods." He corrected me.

I grinned at him, because this was the same guy that got his butt whooped in New York by the Avengers. "I doubt it. I mean, I don't even know who you are."

"I am Loki." He said with a mock bow. "King of Asgard."

"Asgard? Is that a fantasy land of your creation?"

"It's one of the Nine Realms." He scoffed, which annoyed me. "You really _don't _know much."

"I know enough that I can probably send a hundred tiny spikes of ice at your face."

"Hm." He answered. "A daunting prospect. The question is, should I help you or not?"

My hands shook harder than they have before, and three little missiles flew at him. He managed to deflect two with his dagger; the last one sunk into his arm. He glanced at me, surprised.

"Well, make your decision fast!" I exclaimed. He was being so slow it was ridiculous. "I don't _want_ to kill you, Loki King of Fantasyland, but I might not have a choice!"

This seemed to shake him into reality. "True." He thought for a moment and said, "What you need to do is figure out what your power does, exactly."

"Great. How do I make these spiky-things disappear?"

He sighed. "Lower your hands, carefully. Don't let them shake, please."

I tried, I really did. I lowered my hands slowly towards the ground, and the spikes slowly turned into raindrops again, splattering onto the wet ground. I exhaled in relief in not having killed anyone.  
Too soon.

At the last second, my hands trembled violently. In an impulse, I lifted them towards me, trying to stop the shaking.  
And sent a good hundred tiny missiles shooting at Loki's chest.

* * *

**So, there you go. Is Loki going to die because of his own creation? Well, you'll see!**

**And please, if you are reading this, even if you don't like it, drop a review. I'd really like to know what you think. Flames are allowed! I won't be offended, don't worry. **  
**-eaglenation, over and out.**


	5. Ice

Loki managed to teleport half the spikes away from him, but he could not concentrate enough to get a hold on the others, and so he had no choice but to shield his face with his arms and hope the leather of his armour would stop the rest.

He still felt the sting as multiple tiny objects managed to pierce through his coat, reaching his skin and sinking themselves into his flesh, adding the pain to the already throbbing wound on his shoulder.

He clenched his teeth and slowly moved his arms away from his face. The woman was staring at him, half-awed by what she had done.

It took her a moment to shake her stupor before she ran up to him. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, grabbing his arms and moving them away from his face. "Well, thank the Lord you wear this leathery stuff or that would have hurt."

Loki wanted to roll his eyes. "It did hurt." He muttered, pulling his arms away from Kaia and beginning to pick the spikes out of his arms.

"W-wait!" She said, pulling his hands away. He glanced at her, surprised. "What?" He asked.

"I want to try something."

Loki watched with curiosity as she closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows, looking concentrated. In a second, a trickling sensation began to spread up his arms, and he realised that the spikes had melted into water again, leaving behind holes in his coat and blood on his skin. He was impressed, but he knew he wouldn't say so to her; he realised that this was what the potion did to humans. Whatever _this_ was.

"It seems you have received some sort of power." He mused, watching her carefully. "I didn't need your help, I could have teleported them."

She scoffed, which irritated Loki. "How on earth am I supposed to know that? Didn't you have like, tesseract powers?"

Loki closed his eyes for a moment, trying to push the memories out of his head as they came rushing back; the pain, the torture, and the feeling of hatred that came from the scepter. "Not anymore." He said quietly.

He could feel Kaia's gaze on him. "Oh."

"If we are finished here, I will be leaving." Loki had had enough of this mortal, and he had barely spoken to her. She was too enthusiastic and confident. He had a feeling that she would never bow before him, even if he had a knife to her throat.

At least his experiment had worked; he had attacked her to see if he could trigger the effect of the Hel potion. It had.

"Wait." Kaia called suddenly. Loki turned to her reluctantly; he wanted to return to Asgard. He had no business helping her what so ever; she had nothing to offer him, and he would not be risking his safety _and _discovery by Thor for her. He didn't see if there was any way that he could get the potion back.

"You said you could teach me to use it. Can you?"

He turned back to her, smiling slightly. "And what can you offer me in return?"

She shrugged. "Pop Tarts and Band-Aids?"

Never having heard either of the words before, Loki's curiosity spiked. Curiosity and mischief always seemed to come as a couple, at it had for him. He considered her words and weighed his options. He could stay like he had decided to earlier and discover Midgard. Or he could return to sitting on his throne.

The choice was obvious.

"A few days." He nodded. "Where are your quarters?"

She raised an eyebrow. As she did, her eyes flickered and changed colours from green to grey. Loki decided not to point that out to her. "You mean where I live? I live in a barn."

"If that is where you live, I will stay there."

"But you won't try to kill me again, right?"

"You don't trust me?" He asked.

Kaia scoffed. "No."

He nodded in approval. "I wouldn't trust me either."

He saw her concealed smirk as she turned her back. "I can probably pull the icicle stunt again."

Loki knew it was an empty threat. There was no way Kaia knew how to control whatever powers the Hel potion had given her. The questions for Loki remained the same: could she survive? And would this whole adventure have any benefit for him?

He doubted both.

He followed Kaia to the red barn he had seen her in earlier. He couldn't understand how she could stand living in a barn instead of a home.

Loki's boots squished in the muddy ground. His armour needed repairs, his leather coat was torn up and his boots were soaked through. Casting a glamour would only change the way others saw him, but not the way he felt. He didn't want to embarrass himself by asking a Midgardian woman for clothes.

He followed her over a fence and through a muddy field where he had seen horses earlier and through a gate, down a rocky path and into Kaia's barn. He walked in halfway when Kaia put her hand up to stop him. He hated obeying her, but he halted anyway.  
Something about Kaia's demeanour reminded him so much of his mother, he had to respect her.

Kaia gave him a warning look and called, "Jasper! We have a visitor!"

The young man from before stepped onto the ledge above them. He took one look at Loki and burst out laughing.

Loki wanted to kill him.

Jasper ran down the rungs of the ladder that led up to the ledge without even using his hands. He jogged up to Kaia and stopped in front of her, grinning. "Oh, come on Kai." He said. "I told you not to bring home any thunder!"

"Mischief." Loki corrected. The last thing he needed was to be compared to Thor.

Jasper just gave him a smirk. "To me you're thunder. Loud and totally useless."

"But dangerous." Loki countered.

"Only because it comes after lightning."

Loki had another snide comment on the tip of his tongue, but Kaia spread her hands between them. "Are we done playing with metaphors?"

Jasper nodded, then leaned over and jabbed Loki in the chest with his middle finger. "What have you done to my sister?"

Loki held up his hands in surrender, though his mind was screaming bloody murder. "Nothing that I meant too."

"You turned her veins purple!" Jasper exclaimed.

"Barely."

"Visibly."

"Guys!"

"Kaia, you just brought a lunatic into our home!"

"Not a lunatic. A handsome bastard. There's a difference." Loki hissed.

"Can we play some introductory games instead? Ice breakers?" Kaia interceded.

"Not until he apologizes on his knees for the thousands of people he killed in New York!"

Loki flinched. It hadn't been _that_ many, had it? "I'm trying to hold back the urge to add you to that list."

"I'm trying to resist the urge of letting you meet my father."

Loki cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "What kind of threat is that?"

Kaia glanced at him, muttering, "You should be threatened."

"I'm calling the police." Jasper hissed.

"I can always disappear and make_ you_ look like the lunatic." Loki pointed out.

"You destroyed the largest city in like, the world! And now my poor naïve sister brings you into the last thing I have left to call home and-"

"Oh, please. This place is hardly worth destroying."

"Your face could do that to a mirror."

"Your looks could kill a Kursed."

"Because I'm that smokin' hot!"

"Because you're not even-"

"WOULD YOU BOYS SHUT YOUR YAPS AND LISTEN THE HELL UP? BECAUSE I AM DONE WITH YOU BOTH!" Kaia exploded suddenly.

Loki clamped his mouth shut, glaring daggers at Jasper. The other man glared back, his jaw working.

Kaia sighed. "Thank you. Alright. Loki- you are the real Loki after all, right? That armour doesn't look like cosplay- meet Jasper, my super-smart Tony Stark obsessed brother. Jasper, meet Loki, the King of Fantasyland-"

"Asgard."

"Whatever."

_Frigga would be proud,_ Loki thought. He wished he could have his mother's counsel right now, but he couldn't. She was gone and he was stuck in the middle of nowhere. "I am only staying to see what happens with you and your power; whatever it does."

"Power?" Jasper said.

"Yes. Your sister is now infused with the Hel potion, and she seems to be able to solidify water."

"That's scientifically impossible! Well, unless that potion had some sort of substance that could modify your genetic structure or the gravitational field we produce- which, by the way, we do, except it is irrelevant compared to the earth's pull- so that you can modify the molecular structure of the water. You'll have to show me that, Kai, so I could evaluate-"

Loki tuned out. He had half a mind to interrupt Jasper's tirade, but he didn't feel like angering Kaia. She didn't scare him, truly. She was tiny, and he could easily kill her, should need be.  
He didn't understand what he was feeling, exactly. It wasn't love, or awe, or any kind of respect. It was…..understanding, maybe. A mutual understanding.

He figured he might be able to appeal to that. "I can teach you how to control it."

Kaia's head turned to face him. "Are you sure? And you won't like, stab me in the middle of the night?"

"Not unless you bother me."

She cocked her head to the side. "Do you think you know what's happening to me then?"

"We'll see. I'll leave that up to your scientific, small minded brother."

"Hey!" Jasper exclaimed.

Loki shook his head. "You mortals can't think outside the box."

"Um, yeah. It's raining outside."

Kaia shook her head, glancing between them. "No more metaphors, guys. Please. Jasper, I think I should go outside and try whatever I did again. Maybe we can figure out how I did it."

Jasper nodded. "Fair enough. I still don't trust_ it_, though." He added, pointing an accusing finger at Loki.

Loki shook his head. "You have worse insults than Thor on a bad day."

"What do you know about Thor?"

Loki burst out laughing at the ridiculousness in Jasper's statement. "Oh, I know nothing at all. Well, besides the fact that I was raised alongside him, tiny mind."

"Oh my Lord." Kaia shook her head and turned towards the door, walking into the rain. Loki watched intently as she threw her hands out and concentrated, her face closing into a look of absorption.

After a moment, she exclaimed, "I can feel them!"

"What?" Loki asked, curious suddenly.

"The rain!" Kaia called. "It's sort of like a- a presence!"

Loki followed her out into the rain. He was already soaked, so the wetness mattered little to him now. "How, exactly?"

Kaia glanced up at him, a look of excitement in her eyes. Her eyes turned from grey to a bright purple, startling Loki slightly. He didn't the she was conscious of what her irises were doing.

"It's sort of as if they're a part of me. If I concentrate hard enough, they feel alive. They vibrate and I feel like I can change them, meld them to my will."

"Try." Loki prompted.

She closed her eyes. He waited, watching her face go through different stages of concentration. She opened her eyes, and they were green again. "I can't. I keep trying to make those icicly thingies again."

"How did you do it the first time, Kai?!" Jasper called from within the barn.

"I was scared! I was grabbing onto anything around me-"

"-and you managed to grab the molecules of water!"

Kaia's head whipped around, and Loki followed her lead to stare at Jasper. "What?"

"Molecules! The vibration you felt was that exactly! If you concentrated hard enough, you could probably condense them into hard objects."

Loki turned back to the rain and held his hands out, casting a green glow across the earth. Droplets danced across his palms. "Look, Kaia. It's quite logical."

"What is that?" Kaia asked.

"Magic." He said calmly, letting the light flow upwards so it lit up the night, illuminating the stars in a green radiance. "It's easy to control once you get it once. It expands and contracts and I can use it to my will."

Kaia watched what he did with fascination. Her wide eyes turned purple again. "I think I get it." She said, and closed her eyes, spreading her arms out on either side. Loki closed his hands and shut the glow off.

"I've got it.." Kaia mumbled. "I can feel it….." Her eyes flew open. "Ugh, I can't get a hold of them."

"Water has a more complex molecular structure than something like air. I think you should see if you could control the air." Jasper called.

"Um…."

"Try. The same way."

"Okay…." She closed her eyes. "I've got it!" She called after a moment. The wind picked up, beginning to roar louder. The water changed course, the rain splattering against the ground on an angle.

"Oh my God! Now turn, turn…" The wind began to blow against Loki's chest. He couldn't help being impressed at the power radiating from Kaia now. It felt similar to the power he had felt from his mother (and sort of from Odin, but much weaker); he also felt the same power in the numerous sorcerers of Asgard. It was warm and confident, but not as mystical as the magic from Asgard; no, Kaia's aura felt more grounded, less intense, more menacing.

"This is awesome!" She exclaimed. "And now, slow."

The wind stopped. She turned to Loki, her face excited. "Did you feel that?" She turned to Jasper. "Did you feel that, Jaz?!"

"I sure did! Can you do it again?" Jasper called back.

"N-no." All of a sudden, the light drained from Kaia's eyes and she wavered. Instinctively, Loki reached out to catch her, lifting her in his arms. She was weightless.

"What did you do, monster?" Jasper screamed, running at Loki.

Loki sneered. "Have care how you use that word."

"You killed her!"

"She's exhausted, you idiot."

"I- I'm fine. You can put me back on my feet now."

Loki gave Jasper a satisfied glare and put Jasper's sister back on the ground. She stood up shakily and rubbed her palms together. "God, I'm tired."

"That's normal. You're sapped of strength. Your power is more similar to my magic than I realised; it uses up strength. With practice, however, you should be able to endure longer."

"And he didn't do anything to you?" Jasper said suspiciously.

Loki held up his hands. "There's no point standing here and soaking ourselves. Unless, of course, you mortals enjoy sickness."

Loki walked back into the barn without invitation. He looked over his shoulder to see Jasper helping Kaia onto a bale of hay. He didn't give them a second glance as he scaled the ladder to the ledge and dangled his feet over it, resting his back on the hay bales. He scanned the barn, from floor to ceiling, tracing the cracks in the wood with a weary interest.

It had been a long day for him. If he had realized that agreeing to help Heimdall would have landed him where it did. There wasn't much he could do about it that day. He wondered if Vinn had given him away yet. It was a pity, really, that all his efforts had gone to a waste in such a short time; it seemed he would never get the chance to truly enjoy his throne. 

* * *

**And so the day ends. I'd like to know your opinions on two things: Does Loki seem in character enough? And do you like or dislike Kaia?**

**I don't think there is going to be ANY romance in this story unless I think it will help the plot in some way, so don't worry. I just want to know how people feel about my writing in general. xD**

**-eaglenation, over and out**


	6. Horse

**Warning for domestic violence and mild swearing. This chapter is rated T.  
**

* * *

The next morning, Loki woke with straw in his hair. He grumbled and quickly ran a hand through it, too lazy to cast a spell and fix it. The sun had just barely risen, and the horizon was painted with orange and grey.

The events of the day before felt more like a horrible dream then reality, but when he looked around he was met by the hard wooden walls of a barn and bales of hay instead of the careful golden dome of his father's chambers.

He raised his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. His arms throbbed from multiple injuries. He set straight to healing himself, placing a palm over his shoulder and letting the steady thrum of magic knit the wound closed. He then took his armor off, leaving him in a light tunic and leather trousers, and set to healing the puncture marks on his arms and legs. Feeling better than he had in ages, he then stood and stretched. He could hear his muscles creak in protest.

He almost cast a spell over himself to turn into Odin again, but then he remembered he had no need for lies anymore.

He looked down the ledge to see Kaia sleeping on a bale of hay, her arms folded under her head and hay covering her clothing. Loki figured that Jasper slept in the room behind him, the makeshift laboratory he had found the Dark Elf stone in.

Wanting to enjoy being alone, Loki walked down the ladder carefully, leaping onto the ground softly. He landed on all fours and picked himself up with ease, striding carefully across the creaky barn floor.  
He was hungry, but he could survive.

Immediately bored, Loki's eyes guided him to the left of the barn, where stalls lined the wall. There were three, each holding a horse.

One of the horses was a huge black gelding with a chiseled nose. Loki walked over to him slowly, holding his hands out the way he always had to the Aesir horses.  
The gelding pricked his ears and watched Loki with intelligent eyes, judging the man that stood before him with a strange perspective. Loki found himself reaching his hand out and placing his hands between the horse's eyes, rubbing his fingers in circles. The horse snorted with pleasure.

Behind him, Loki could hear Kaia stirring and muttering things under her breath, but he wanted to ignore her for a while longer. He continued his path down the horses nose, stroking its velvety nostrils. The gelding closed its eyes and nickered.

Loki smiled, forgetting himself for a moment. He stood a second more with the gelding, then retreated his hand slowly and walked to the next stall.

Beside the gelding was a brown mare with abundant feathering, like the gelding. However, the mare stood in the far corner of her stall, her ears back and the whites of her eyes showing. Loki leaned his elbows against the stall door and watched her closely.

She let out a warning whinny, but Loki didn't move away. He would never bow to a small creature like a horse.

The mare started towards him angrily. Loki willed himself to stay stock still. Behind Loki, Kaia rubbed the sleep from her eyes and called, "She's a really damaged one. I can't seem to get through to her."

"Should that frighten me?" Loki whispered in a low tone.

"She's dangerous. I have her trust, but-"

Loki glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "I'm not backing down."

Kaia's eyes were wide. "Don't, Loki."

He looked back at the mare. She was now inches away from his face, her ears back and nostrils flared like some kind of devil's steed. She made Loki think of himself. Misunderstood, lost, and completely, completely alone.

He wanted to help her.

He looked the mare in the eye and nodded slowly, loosening his shoulders to show her he was no threat. Then he placed a hand between the mare's eyes, willing her to close her eyes too.

"Oh my God." He heard Kaia gasp. Loki's mind thrummed with satisfaction.

"Dude, she never even let_ me_ do that. Remember that time I tried to ride her?"

"I'm just waiting for her to bite off his arm." Loki heard Jasper yawn loudly. _Damn,_ he thought. The annoying one was awake.

He inched his hand away from the mare's forehead. He could see an unfailing pride in the horse, an unfailing pride that must have been hurt in some point in her life. She wanted to reign. So did Loki.

They really weren't different at all.

He turned her back on her. "Do you call her anything?" he asked in Kaia's direction.

Kaia shook her head in stupor. "Um, yeah. Her name's Eaglebeats. It's a short for Eagle's Wingbeats."

Loki found himself mouthing the words. "Why do you keep her cooped up like this? She's obviously a queen. She needs everything to herself."

"What? What do you know about horses?" Jasper jeered.

Loki didn't blink. "I suspect you'd be quite shocked."

Jasper snorted.

He'd had enough. "Well, for starters, she's not weak and wounded. Whatever she's been through, it hurt her dignity, and she wants it back."

Kaia blinked. "She's a horse."

"Yes. A very intelligent one. You should leave her outdoors more often. Has either of you ever ridden her?"

"Um, Kai has. She got bucked off. We figured she didn't trust us enough."

Loki grinned, feeling quite confident. "Oh, no. That's not it at all." He reached for the latch in the stall door, opening the door with a creak.

"What are you-"

"Stop, Jaz, and watch. I have a feeling he may be able to get through to her better than I ever could."

Loki nodded and met Jasper's eyes, wanting the man to see the smugness in his eyes. "You should listen to your sister more often."

He opened the stall door. Eaglebeats barged out, her ears back and her teeth bared. Loki swore he could see satisfaction in her movements.  
Jasper moved back in panic, but Kaia stayed calm. "Work your Fantasyland magic." She muttered.

Loki tried not to be irritated. He reached his arms out and smoothed down the mare's mane. She was huge, much bigger and larger than Loki's bay or even Sleipnir, with his eight legs. For the first time in his life, he felt respect to be in the company of such a lowly animal.

He touched her flank and moved to her head, looking her straight in the eye and trying to use his magic to convey the respect he felt towards her. Eaglebeats shook her mane and slowly inched her ears forward, until they were turned towards Loki and not flat against her head.

Loki trailed his hand along her back until her reached the end of her mane. The he grabbed onto the end of it and leapt up, swinging his leg over her back. "Steady…." He whispered. "Steady…."

The mare stomped her hoof on the ground, but otherwise did not budge. Loki pressed his heels gently into her sides and waited, not spurring her on. It was her decision, not his, weather she decided to keep him on her back. He had a feeling it would hurt to fall off a horse so tall.

Finally, almost reluctantly, Eaglebeats stepped forward once. Then twice. She began to walk.

Then she took off at a full gallop.

Loki barely had a minute to grab her mane before she was out the barn door and in charging across the field, kicking up clumps of wet earth and splattering Loki with mud. He felt her elation, her joy to be free. He relished in it.

He kicked Eaglebeats faster, and she obliged, charging across the field with her head stretched forward. Loki bent low over her neck, feeling the muscles rippling under Eaglebeats' back and every push of her powerful limbs. He thanked all the realms that he had strong legs; if he hadn't, he would have fallen of long ago.

He yelled in elation as the mare circled around, headed back for the barn. She decelerated from a gallop to a slow canter, and Loki could see she was aiming for the fence that had been her enclosure. He dug his fists into her mane and yelled at the top of his lungs as Eaglebeats jumped the huge fence, landing with a jarring jolt and charging across the muddy field. Loki sensed her muscled tense and was prepared when she stopped abruptly, sending Loki flying off her back sprawling into the mud.

He heard her whinny, and it sounded almost like laughter. He found himself laughing too, for the first time in years.

Loki tried to sit up, but Eaglebeats butted him with her massive head, sending him back down into the mud once more. He laughed and grabbed onto her forelock. She lifted her head in shock and he used the momentum to stand up out of the mud with a wet, sucking sound.

He put his muddy arms around Eaglebeats' head, murmuring praise and stroking her muddy mane.

"Oh my God." He heard Kaia say. He turned to her, allowing his smile to fade a bit. Eaglebeats put her head on his shoulder and chewed on his hair. "Oh my- do your realize- d- do you even know-" She stammered.

Jasper came up behind her, stretching his long arms and still looking half-asleep. "Oh please. That was a fluke."

"Does this look like a fluke to you, mortal?" Loki put his arm around Eaglebeats' neck.

Jasper gaped.

For the first time in his life, Loki felt satisfied. "Good girl, Eaglebeats, my queen. I believe I passed your test." He praised.

"Could you please explain how on earth you- a stranger- managed to do-that- just-what." Kaia snapped her mouth shut after she realized it was impossible to say a logical sentence. "You have my respect, Loki of Fantasyland."

"As_-gard_." Loki muttered. He lifted his feet out of the mud, noticing for the first time that his shoes were gone. He walked halfway through the muddy field, and then, out of laziness, teleported himself the rest of the way. Eaglebeats stared after him in stupor before following.

"She just needed understanding. She isn't wounded; which I suspect is the way you treated her. She's a queen. She always reigned over the other horses, so it bothered her when she never got any respect."

Jasper looked skeptical. "How do you know all this?"

Loki shook his head and said, "Experience."

He lead Eaglebeats back into the barn, trying not to hear Kaia's quiet, "Oh." In the background.

* * *

"These should fit you."

Loki caught the clothing Kaia tossed through the air with ease. It was human clothing, softer than the leather he was used to. A dark hooded sweater, a pair of torn, dark blue pants, and a white t-shirt that spelled out _Tony Stark's no. 1 Fan_.

He glared up at Kaia, who was sitting across from him at her house's table. After the Eaglebeats incident, Jasper had disappeared into his laboratory, and Kaia invited Loki into her house, telling him to be quiet, though she didn't explain why. She'd disappeared to take a shower and reappeared in fresh clothes, tossing Loki clothing that she had been able to find for him.

"Are you serious?" He held up the Tony Stark fan t-shirt, unamused.

"Hey, it's Jasper's."

"That is no excuse." He grumbled. He stood up, stripping off his mud-stained tunic and glaring down at his bare chest, which was covered in mud and scratched. "I need a bath." He stated.

"Oh, why yes, my Lord." Kaia mocked.

"Do you have baths?" Loki asked, trying to sound more polite, though he let some venom drip into his voice.

"We have a shower. That way and right up the stairs. There's only one room upstairs; the roof collapsed on Dad and Mom's bedroom and the other rooms a few years ago."

Loki nodded and headed through a door at the end of Kaia's kitchen, heading through a dark green hallway and into a large room that had white walls with chipping paint. Everything contained in the room was either smashed or broken. Loki stepped over an empty bottle that smelled of ale.

He headed past three couches and into another room that led up a collection of white stairs and into a hallway. One side of the hallway was cut off. The other side was occupied by a man, tall and large.

"And who are you? Wanting to rob me, eh? I got nothing."

The man made Loki think of a drunken war fool. He hated those men. "I'm looking for the baths." He said, clenching his fists. He had a feeling this would end in a fight. "Who are you?"

"Martin Coast, father of two bastard children who left me in this mess and an ex-marine."

"Are you Kaia's father?"

The man laughed chillingly. "That second child, right? Ha! Never wanted her, but Sarah insisted. Kayandra Sarah Coast, the useless bitch that she is."

Loki suddenly felt defensive of Kaia and even her brother. If this was truly their father, then he seemed worse than Odin. "Have care how you speak."

"Is that a threat?"

"Clearly."

From the bottom of the stairs, Loki heard Kaia say, "Leave him, Loki. He's drunk as a Dumbo on New Year's Eve."

"A curious simile."

"I see someone appreciates literature."

_Well, I had nothing better to do, locked up in a cell._ Loki thought, but at loud he asked, "Is this your father?"

"He is when he's not drunk."

"Never was." Martin growled from the top of the stairs. He stumbled down them, shoving past Loki, until he was face-to-face with his daughter. Even from far away, Loki could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Bitch." Martin spat in Kaia's face. She recoiled a few steps before Martin punched her in the stomach. She doubled over, coughing, and Martin punched her in the back, sending her to the ground. "That's where you belong."

Suddenly, the man beating up Kaia was Martin no longer, but Odin. Kaia was no longer herself but Loki, lying helpless on the ground as Odin punished him for something-or-other.

Loki halted in shock as he watched Odin stomp his foot down on the other Loki's leg. He let out a yelp, but then bit his lip.

He watched as Odin kicked Loki again and again. Red danced before his eyes, taunting him into anger.

Suddenly, he burst forward, running across the floor of the palace room. He grabbed Odin and shoved him aside, away from himself, lying motionless on the ground. Odin yelled in a very un-Allfather like manner and charged at Loki (the real one), shoving him backwards.  
He stumbled and fell against the wall, flinging a hand out to push himself back up. Odin was on him in a moment, punching him in the mouth. Loki scrambled upright and shoved his father into the other wall, which suddenly closed in so that they were standing in a tiny room again, and not the Asgard palace chambers. Odin flew backwards and knocked his head on the wall, falling against the floor. Loki could see his chest rise and fall. Not dead, but gone, leaving Loki alone with himself.

Leaving Loki alone with Kaia.

"Are you alright?" Loki was back on earth again, back in Kaia's house. He reached down awkwardly and rolled Kaia over to see if she was alive. She was trembling violently, but Loki couldn't tell if it was from rage, fear or pain. Maybe all three.

"Are you alright?" Loki repeated again.

Kaia nodded slowly. "I'm fine."  
Loki could immediately tell she was lying. She tried to stand up, but then she fell back down, clutching at her chest.

Something in Loki softened. She seemed so helpless, so small. "Stop." He put a hand on her chest, grabbing her arms away from her ribs.

Kaia recoiled immediately. "Don't touch me!"

"I can heal you." He said quietly.

"I don't care. I don't want anyone-"

Loki didn't listen to her. He pressed a hand to her rib-cage, letting the magic flow through his limbs and into her body, mending together broken bones. He heard Kaia grit her teeth in a muffled scream. "Shhh…." Loki whispered, trying to mimic his mother when she had comforted him. He was truly awkward in situations like this.

"Ow. Dammit." Kaia hissed as Loki placed a hand on her back, mending the bruises there too. The healing magic sapped him of strength, but he continued, healing the cut above her eye too.

Kaia's eyes had turned dark brown. She probably still hadn't figured out her eyes were changing color. Loki certainly wouldn't point it out now.

"I know something about bad fathers." Loki chuckled darkly, moving away from Kaia. She pressed her hands to her ribs, and her eyes softened. "Thanks, Loki." She said quietly.

Loki moved away. "I think I'll take that shower now."

"Yeah. Go." Kaia began to stand up, so Loki left her, running up the staircase. He pretended not to hear Kaia's stifled sobs that trailed behind him like fog.

* * *

**I seriously considered breaking these two events into separate chapters, but I felt like it would do good to put in some character development. I do suppose this much action was a bit much for one chapter, but it seemed to be better than breaking it down into two shorter consecutive chapters.**

**As for Loki and Eaglebeats, there is a logical explanation. In the movie, Loki does ride a horse, twice in fact. He rides with perfect ease, so I figured he knows more about animals then he lets on. I wanted to give him something to connect to, and a wounded mare seemed like the perfect object.**

**And the horse Loki rides in the movie is a bay, but I don't know whether it's male or female.**

**You may have noticed I like horses xD**

**-eaglenation, over and out**


	7. Eyes

**Before the next chapter starts, I'd like to thank Anonymous, who took the time and trouble to write the awesomest and most uplifting review I've gotten ever since I joined FanFiction. I can't answer you directly, Anonymous, but thank you so much. I wanted to take down this FanFiction because I didn't think anyone liked it...but I'll keep writing it now.**

* * *

Air is a curious substance.

I'd never been conscious of it before, but ever since the Hel potion entered my system, I could feel the air around me. It felt the same way that you would feel the presence of someone standing behind you; they're not physically there, but you can feel their breath on your shoulder.

If I concentrated hard enough, I could feel the air moving through my lungs and twisting around me to accommodate my body.

It was fascinating.

I sat on a bale of hay after the incident with my father, seething. What embarrassed me the most was the fact that Loki had been there. He'd seen how weak I was, how defenseless. I hated it.

I tried to collect my thoughts while playing with the air between my fingers. I found I could control it, sort of like bending a stiff pipe-cleaner; it took me a bit of energy and concentration, but after ten minutes I had it swirling in visible flurries around my hands.

Jasper sat down beside me after a while. He sat in silence, watching what I was doing; I could almost hear the gears in his mind whirring. I could feel the calculation in his gaze, as he must have been trying to find a scientific explanation to what I was doing. After a moment, he said, "So, what happened?"

"Nothing." I aimed a gust of dusty wind at his face, turning it back at the last second with just a bit of concentration. Controlling the wind was sort of like trying to grab slippery soap; it kept slithering through my grasp, but I could catch it quickly enough.

"Please, Kai. I know when something bad happens to you. You go all quiet."

I didn't answer.

"Hey, Kayandra. I practically raised you."

"Yeah, and I'm twenty four now; I'm more than capable of making my own choice."

"Kai…"

"Jasper, if I have something I need to tell you, I will."

"Was it dad?"

"No."

"Liar. Where's that alien friend of yours?"

"Loki?"

"No, Bob from across the street."

I snorted. "Jaz, no one lives across the street."

"My point precisely."

I smirked. "Thanks, Jasper."

I don't think he knew what I was thanking him for. We both proceeded into a comfortable silence. I could feel him watching the swirling mist around my fingers, so I turned my head towards him and smiled.

When I did, he exclaimed, "Oh my God!"

"What?" I asked.

He sat a bit away from me, his eyes on my face intently. "Kai, what color are your eyes?"

Confused, I answered, "Hazel. Why?"

"They're not hazel."

I stood up slowly, keeping my eyes on him suspiciously. Was this a joke? "What do you mean?"

He stood up also and beckoned to me. Still confused, I followed him up the ledge into his lab. Once we were inside, Jasper picked a small mirror out of a pile of metal and passed it to me. I took it and gave him a suspicious look, then lifted the mirror to eye level.  
And nearly screamed.

My eyes were grey. My eyes have never been grey. But now they were a smoky, clear crystal grey. As I watched, the color swirled and turned purple.

I dropped the mirror. It clattered to the ground with a clang, fortunately not breaking. "Oh my God. No, no, no. This can _not_ be happening." I rubbed my eyes furiously. "How am I supposed to go to work like this? Show up at the clinic 'oh hey, look, my veins are now purple and my eyes change color.' 'Oh, that's nice deary, now go operate on that dog over there'?"

Jasper sighed. "Well, I'm sure there's a logical explanation..."

"As always." My temper felt as if it had been hard-boiled, like an egg. If someone dropped it, it would easily crack.

"We could try contacts." Jasper suggested quietly.

"Yes, and I'll rub concealer all over my body." I groaned and slumped down on a bale of hay with a grunt. "God, this is so weird. Where's Loki? He should have the explanation to all this."

Almost as if on cue, footsteps sounded in the barn. I heard Eaglebeats nicker in greeting.

I walked to the door and peeked out. Loki was wearing the clothes I had gotten him, looking quite human for the alien that had killed a couple thousand people. His black hair fell across the back of his neck, spiking out at the ends. His pale skin stood out against his dark clothing.

"Do not bother." He said suddenly.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"You're spying on me, and you're doing horribly."

I sighed and let myself drop off the ledge. It wasn't that far off the ground, and I landed with a soft thump. My leg flared in pain. I would have bruises for work tomorrow. "That's a pity. I felt like a ninja momentarily."

"Ninja?" He questioned.

I laughed. "Japanese warriors."

"Nothing you humans could conjure could ever equal up to the strength of Asgard."

I walked up to Sleipnir's stall and began stroking his muzzle, keeping one eye on Loki the whole time. "As I recall, we defeated you quite easily."

"That was luck."

"That was humankind." I sighed, and Sleipnir pressed his face into my shirt, nearly bowling me over. "Ow, Sleip, ow." I pushed him away, then turned to Loki, keeping one palm on the nose of my affectionate Clydesdale. "Anyway, I have a request."

"Oh? Another one? Besides helping you master your powers and being your bodyguard?"

Immediately tensing up, I said, "I never asked for your help."

"I get the feeling your drunk father would have killed you." He scoffed. "Weak."

I nodded in agreement, which earned me a surprised look. "That's my second request. Teach me to fight."

"What will I get in return?"

I sighed in exasperation. "Is that all you think about?"

"Besides world domination and being extraordinarily handsome? Yes."

I couldn't help laughing. "Well, I can't give you much. I can't even think of something I could give you in return for, well, turning me weird. Maybe I should call S.H.I.E.L.D about that? Or maybe I should ring up famous astrophysicist Jane Foster and let her know that her boyfriend's brother-you _are_ Thor's brother, right?- and then you'd have the Avengers all over you again and-"

"Enough!" Loki shouted, startling Eaglebeats, who turned in circle and neighed loudly. Loki held up his hands in surrender. "Alright. I will teach you to fight and to use your power. Just don't. Tell. Thor."

I smirked. "That's more like it." I wondered what he had done to be so afraid of his muscly brother with the hammer. The Avengers had defeated him in New York, and he had been taken back to his home planet….whatever it was called. I made a mental note to ask him how he had escaped when he should be in prison, facing life sentence.

I suddenly realised there were flurries around my hands again, sweeping dust off the ledge of Sleipnir's stall door. _But I haven't been concentrating….._It felt strangely natural, like I've been doing it all my life.  
Loki's eyes fell to my hands. I could see greed swirling in their green depths.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Power." He answered shortly. "It's like my magic. I think. Try to form it into some shape."

I concentrated harder. The air around me became a buzzing, slippery mass, made up of building blocks that I could shape and reshape. I moved my hands, bringing the blocks together into a spherical shape that hovered right above my palm. I glanced at Loki expectantly.

"Curious. So it's not like my magic. It's not a part of you."

"Well, I can't make building blocks a part of me." I said vaguely. I loosened my hold on the sphere and it vanished.

"THAT'S IT!"

Loki, the horses, and me all jumped at Jasper's yell. I turned towards him, my arms spread out slightly in surprise. "Yes, Jasper?" I said sweetly.

"MOLECULES! YOU CAN CONTROL MOLECULES!" He thundered. "The blocks that you were talking about were molecules and I think that you can somehow sense them and when you do you influence them with your movements and the reason it's so easy for you to move the air is because air has simple molecules and they are spaced further apart so you can easily bring them together."

"Jaz…"

"No, listen! Back when_ it_ attacked you the icicles you told me about made out of water? Well you were in a panic so your mind grabbed onto the first thing it could which was the rain and you sub-consciously moved it into a shape you thought would protect you."

"But I can't do it anymore."

"Because H2O is more complicated than air….."

"No….air is made out of more components, like Nitrogen and Oxygen and…."

"Still, it's easier to grasp."

"Well, yeah." I said, not really understanding, but still agreeing.

Jasper rubbed his palms together, his eyes a swirling vortex of knowledge. I wondered whether this was the way Einstein had looked when he discovered something. Wild and insane. "This is beautiful. This is wonderful!"

Loki leaned against Eaglebeats' barn door with a sigh, thumping against it. "You sound like Thor when he learns a new battle move."

I gave him a sideways glance. "I thought you hated him?"

He didn't answer.

I moved my gaze back to Jasper, who's excitement was starting to rub off on me. "So you're saying that I can move molecules? Are those the building blocks?"

"If that's what you mean, I think so. If you can move the air, I think with a lot of practice you could move water."

I thought for a moment. "But doesn't that mean that I could also move any molecules? Like, heal people or destroy them?"

"If you can turn liquid to solid, you can do any of those things. But the molecule components may be too complex."

"Well then. I could be a superhero!" I exclaimed giddily. "Kaia Coast, new Avenger." I struck a pose.

"No." Loki mumbled.

"You could meet Tony Stark! Man, what I'd give to meet that man…."

"Enough with that, Jasper." I was still smiling, but I didn't want to begin to feel like I could do anything. "Alright. Let's get down to business. Jasper, can you concoct something that will cover my eyes or turn them normal?"

"Well, if the reason is as I suspect and your influence in the molecules also cause the colour coding of your eyes to reformulate."

"I don't even think that's scientific." I point out.

"It's a possibility."

"I thought the colour of our eyes was decided by genes?"

"If that were so, my eyes would be red." Loki said quietly.

Both of our heads turned to him. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He stood up straight and crossed his arms in front of him. "Look. On Asgard, we don't have science. We don't have magic, either."

Jasper says, "And Asgard is…."

"His home planet."

"Not really, but my home. Anyway, on Asgard, science and magic are the same. They cannot be explained, they just are."

"That's unscientific." Jasper stammered.

"Well, that's the point, Jasper." I said, irritated.

"You're big on this science thing, but some things just can't be explained."

I scoffed. "Yeah, like Thor's arms."

Loki almost smiled, but then he scowled instead. I don't think he knew how much hate and affection showed in that gesture at the same time. It was the most emotion I'd seen from him up to date. On television, they showed him as a cold and heartless villain that would kill children just for pleasure. In reality, he was more than that, if only a bit more.

"So, when do we start?" I asked Loki after a moment.

He shook his head. "That's my line." He turned to Jasper pointedly. "And doesn't your brother have something to do?

Jasper, giving me a look, said through clenched teeth, "Kaia, tell the alien that I will punch him in the face if he talks to me like that again." Then he turned around and stormed up the ladder and disappeared into his lab.

I gave Loki a glare. "Both of you are boneheads, you know that?"

He smirked. "He is. I'm not. Anyway, let us move on."

"Yeah. You said you could teach me how to control _it_."

"Yes." He walked outside and beckoned for me to follow. "It will be harder for you than it is for me." He towered above me, so I had to look up to watch his face. He stood with his arms slightly outstretched, like he was about to take flight but couldn't decide whether to flap or glide. He was waiting for me to ask why, so I did.

"Why?"

"Because my magic is a part of me, while you have to grasp the molecules, if it is like your brother said."

"Oh." I held out my hands. "So how do I do anything?"

"Would you like me to teach you to fight or to use your power?"

I smiled. "How do I fight with my power?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he said, "I won't be nice."

I cracked my knuckles. "Neither will I."

"Then let's get this started."

* * *

Loki and I trudged back to the barn at the end of the day. I was panting, while Loki seemed only slightly tired. We were both covered in bruises.

We began with something Loki called 'simple' and I called 'doomsday'. I practiced moving large amounts of air and lifting hay off the ground, whirling it. It exhausted me and I fainted once.

I woke to find Loki watching me from a hay bale. I groaned, then sucked it up as we continued to practice. Loki, instead of moving air, teleported them from one place to the other. At one point, he thought it would be hilarious to drop a hay bale on my head.

It wasn't funny for me.  
Okay, sort of.

He then asked me to attack him. After putting me to the ground twice by teleporting himself behind me or tripping me, we called it a day.

Before night fell, I visited my house one more time, taking a shower and getting my docotrish-uniform-thingy, as one of my fellow veterinary trainees put it, ready. I dressed in my pajamas and fell asleep in the living room. Dad wasn't anywhere to be seen, and I hoped he would stay away after Loki knocked him unconscious.

I fell asleep thinking about summer storms, tempests, and air. 

* * *

**-eaglenation, over and out**


	8. Secrets

**Before we begin, I'd like to justify my choice of writing this FanFic in two points of view. Ohgress suggested that I drop the first person past for Kaia, so I'd like to explain why this was my decision. And thank you, Ohgress, for pointing that out. (And thanks for the follow on tumblr *winks*)**

**I thought of it this way: Loki is a very proud and cold person who would never talk about himself or tell others about his feelings. The only way to possibly recount his adventures is to write about him from the outside, in third person.**

**Kaia, however, is a very open person, and I think the best way to show you her way of thinking is by writing in the first person past.**

**I hope this explains my choice a bit. I wanted you to have a distinct feeling of two completely different people with two opposite personalities from two different worlds sharing the same adventure.**

**And now to the story!  
**

* * *

The next morning seemed beautiful to me.

In some ways, it seemed like nothing had ever happened. As I lay stretched on the hay, I imagined that I was five again, lying down on dad's lap on the sofa. He and mom had been watching a movie, I must have fallen asleep. Dad will wake me up in a moment and get me ready for school. Jasper will come and play with me, or show me one of his newest inventions.

Life is normal.

It hadn't always been bad for me and Jasper. It had all started after my mother died. I was five then; I didn't remember much. It was her laughter that I remembered her by; a distinct laugh like chiming bells. Jasper always says we sound the same.

Besides that, it was always just dad, Jasper and me. I'd always been the weird one at school. We weren't a poor family per se, but we weren't wealthy either. Not having a mother meant weird style and strange mannerisms, and so I was often laughed at as a kid. I always had my small group of friends; I loved them and I was always loyal. They returned the favour.  
I didn't have many friends, but at least I had good ones.

It all changed after dad got sent to war. I was twelve when he left. I remember crying in the night when he wasn't there. Soon though, Jasper and I got used to being alone together. Jasper became my substitute father; I became his moral support. We helped each other study.

Once I got into high school, I had a set goal in mind. Have good grades, make some money, and move far, far away from home. I'd grown up around Captain Spark, dad's horse, and so I wanted to become a veterinarian. Mom had been a vet too.  
Maybe I just wanted to make her proud.

Then dad returned home from Afghanistan, mentally and physically messed up. It started with his drinking. He sometimes forgot who I was, yelled at me. He began to blame me for mom's death. I often wondered what had happened to him at war; what he could have experienced to become so cruel and cold.

We never got the answer.

I was in the last year of highschool when I decided to move into our barn. It was supposed to be a one-night thing, because dad was in a particularly bad mood that night.

I never got back home. My old house slowly became a disarray of beer and pain.

Jasper soon went to work. He made money to keep us going, while I slowly put aside money to apply to university. I got accepted and began to study for-

BLEEP! BLEEP!

I blinked and got up with a groan at the sound of my watch's alarm clock.  
Visions of my life immediately disappeared from my mind as I realised I had about five minutes to get to work.

In three seconds, I had run to my house, put on my scrubs, grabbed a pop tart, and I was about to run to hijack dad's old pickup when Loki appeared in front of my door.

"Where are you going to?" I didn't know why he was asking, so I just shrugged and shoved past him.

His hand reached and grabbed me by the shoulder, no hard enough to be hurtful, but not entirely gently either. "_Where_ are you going?"

I turned to look at him, my currently brown eyes to his green ones. "Work. I'm a vet. Neigh neigh?" I suggested.

He smiled and handed me a pair of small, wire-rimmed glasses. "Your brother told me to give these too you. As much as I care little about your life, the last thing I need is some mortal calling S.H.I.E.L.D about a woman with changing eyes."

I smiled sarcastically. "I don't care if you don't care, and thank you." I stuck the glasses on and ran to my dad's Chevy. I glanced in the mirror before pressing the gas pedal. My eyes had returned to treelike green behind the glasses. I'd have to ask Jasper what they did later, but now I had other things to worry about.

I pressed the pedal and took off down the road. It was five minutes before I reached _Beaverton Animal Hospital_.

I got out of dad's car and ran down the gravelly path to the small, squat grey building of the clinic. I could hear nickers of horses coming from the rehab barn and begging for carrots, but I ignored them and entered into the clinic's scrubbed white interior.

I was greeted by my best friend, a tall blonde named Mitzy. "Hey, Kai!" She called. She tucked her straight blond hair behind her ears and leaned over a clipboard. "Ben's in the backroom. We've got a gazillion dogs due for checkup and Maurice and Dr. Lorna have got a spaying at eleven."

I grinned and joined her, looking down at her scribbled notes on the clipboard. "Great. Sounds like I won't be home for lunch."

"Nope." She laughed.

Ben emerged from one of the rooms. "Blizzard's being sent home today!"

I clapped my hands. "That's great!" Blizzard was a horse with a wounded leg, owned by one of the farms near my house.

Ben smiled and took the clipboard out of Mitzy's hands, tucking one muscled arm. "It's good, eh? Mr. Topson's definitely going to be happy."

Mariah 'Mitzy' Raymund and Benedict Sign were the last of what was left of my small group of friends from elementary. We'd stayed together due to common interests and a strong friendship, as well as the need for higher education. We were the three trainees at the Beaverton clinic, preparing for specialisation and to take over the clinic as future vets.

I made my way into the staff room and set down my purse, proceeding to take a look at myself in the small, greasy wall mirror. The glasses had miraculously stopped my eyes from swirling in different colours, but they make me look nerdy.

"New glasses?"

I turned around to face Dr. Lorna, a squat woman with wrinkles around her mouth and crinkles by her eyes.

"Yeah. Stupid eyesight." I tapped the rims sheepishly.

"You're helping Dr. Maurice today. You're doing the checkups."

I nodded and smoothed my shirt down, hoping to look more professional. "No problem. Who's first?"

Dr. Lorna grinned in an almost childish way. "Ask Mitzy. She's been fussing over the schedule all morning."

"Isn't that the receptionist job?"

Dr. Lorna laughed sarcastically. "The receptionist moved, remember? We don't have a new one yet."

I chuckled. I'd forgotten how small Beaverton was. 1,500 people and no applications for receptionist. "That would explain it."

Ben popped his brown-haired head through the door. "Kai, is here with Bambino."

I dipped my head to and headed out, ready for a day full of work.

* * *

I arrived home after six that day, yawning and stretching to get the cramps out of my limbs after the heavy lifting of animals and tools. I was greeted by Sleipnir's nicker and immediately noticed that Eaglebeats was missing from the pasture. My heart began to pound harder as my eyes skimmed the property and the farming field; nothing.

I ran to the barn and into Jasper's lab, only to find Jasper working on T.O.M, his newest robot prototype. He waved me away and mumbled some mathematic equation under his breath. I tried yelling, "Eaglebeats has gone missing!", but all I got was an eye roll.

Frustrated, I grabbed Sleipnir's saddle and bridle from one of the storage containers and ran back to the pasture. I checked Sleipnir's hooves quickly, noting I needed to schedule a farrier visit, and ran a hand over his coat, quickly ridding it of dust. I then flung the saddle over his tall, broad back and did up the girth, proceeding to slip the bridle over his head.

Once that was done, I walked him close to the fence and ordered him to stop. I then climbed the rail and leaped from the fence onto his back with a grunt. No time for mounting blocks or helmets when your half-wild mare has disappeared.

Sleipnir snorted and took off as soon as I pressed my heels into his sides, taking off through the gate and onto the gravel path that led up to the barn.

I circled Sleipnir around the property at a canter. Not finding anything, I asked him for a gallop and steered him into the small forest that separated out property from the neighboring cow farm.

Sleipnir had a brisk but comfortable stride, and I quickly settled him into a fast rhythm, my eyes dancing from tree to tree in search of Eaglebeats' brown flank. I reached the edge of the forest and was about to canter back when I spotted a green light coming from between the trees.

It wasn't a natural light. I had only seen it come from one place before: Loki's Asgardian magic.

I dismounted from Sleipnir's back carefully and led him off the narrow forest path and wove between the trees, drawing closer to the light, which began to glow brighter with every step.

I made sure to keep quiet as I neared the source, Sleipnir trailing obediently behind me.

The trees parted suddenly to make way to a tiny clearing. Eaglebeats' bulk took up the majority of it, and I sighed with relief, seeing as she was unhurt and well. She flicked her tail and munched on a mouthful of hay, looking content.

She was only wearing a saddle. Where was her bridle? Why hadn't she run away yet?

My eyes followed the green glow until they found Loki, concealed in the shadows. He couldn't see me, but I could see him well enough from where Sleipnir and I stood in the shadows.

He was holding a bridle under one arm, his other fluttering gently through the air, producing swirls of magic that shimmered in the green light I had seen. The light waltzed between Loki's fingers, arching through them like leaping dolphins. I watched, mesmerized, as they solidified into the shape of a woman wearing a long, white dress, her hair in tresses that Athenians might have worn in Ancient Greece. Her form shimmered and flickered on Loki's palm.

Curious, I placed a hand on Sleipnir's snout and ordered him to stay. Crossing my fingers that my gelding would be as obedient as he usually is, I let go of his reins and crept closer to Loki, hoping to catch a better glance of what he was doing.

My first guess was that the lady he had conjured up was his girlfriend. Drawing closer, however, I saw that she looked much too old; her eyes crinkled in a friendly smile and there were lines around her mouth and forehead.

Was she Loki's….mother? It was the only possible explanation, but I didn't see any similarity between them at first. After observing carefully, however, I found they resembled each other in posture; a cold, proud demeanor.

"You can come out now. I can hear you breathing."

Startled at Loki's cold voice, I stepped back, snapping a branch with my foot. He didn't look at me, but I knew immediately that he _knew_ I was there. However, his posture didn't change. His eyes stayed riveted on the woman, and his face was still in the same expression, as if he had never spoke.

"M-me?" I stammered.

He didn't answer. His green magic glowed brighter, engulfing the clearing in an eerily beautiful game of light and shadows. The woman moved across his palm, her steps as purposeful as Loki's as she danced across his fingers.  
I got the feeling he was sharing something special with me, and intimate secret that he had never shown anyone before, and that I was an unwanted witness of this epic spectacle.

I didn't speak. I walked into the clearing stood behind him, watching the dazzling green light flickering across the clearing with respect and awe.  
Eaglebeats seemed unfazed as the green light touched her face, as if she had seen it before, which was strange enough.

I didn't move for a long while, sharing Loki's private memory as if it was a treasure given to me. Whatever it was, whoever the woman was, she must have meant a lot to him. I stood silent as if at a vigil, waiting for some secret queue.

I stayed still even as Sleipnir entered the clearing and dipped his head to graze beside his companion Eaglebeats. I stood still as time ticked past without meaning. I stood still, listening to the sound of magic humming in the air.

Finally, Loki waved his hand and the flurries of magic vanished as if they were never there. When he looked at me, I got the feeling that I was not to speak of what I had just seen, or he might cut my head off.

There were tears in his eyes, but he didn't acknowledge them as they trickled down his cheeks.

Silently, he stepped towards Eaglebeats. He lowered his head to her ear and pressed his palms to her withers, rubbing them in circles. The mare raised her head and he slipped the bridle over her head in one swift movement, slipping the bit into his steed's mouth.

He mounted up and kicked her into a trot, riding out of the clearing.

Kaia was left staring after him, wondering what she could have just possibly experienced. 

* * *

**The next chapter will be a bit more interesting, I promise, because Kaia will begin to experiment with her powers (*oops, spoiler!*). I just wanted a bit of calm before the –dare I say it- thunderstorm.  
**

**-eaglenation, over and out**


	9. Mother

Loki galloped Eaglebeats back towards Kaia's barn at the fastest the mare could reach. His mind was turmoil of pain and memories, as well as reproaching thoughts about what he had done.

She'd seen.  
She'd _seen_.

Him. His intimate thoughts.

And he'd let her.

It felt as if she had seen him stripped naked and laid bare on stone. It wasn't like Kaia had seen much; she had only seen the shape of Frigga, but she didn't understand what was behind it. She didn't understand how it would feel, to lose the only thing precious to her.

Mother. Frigga.

"So perceptive about everyone except yourself." He could hear her voice, hurt and exasperated, but also loving. The only love he had ever given himself over to wholly.

And now she was gone, torn from his grasp. And deep inside, he knew it was his fault. He had given the Kursed directions, told it to take the staircase that led up to the palace.

Loki had killed Frigga, and he would bear the pain forever like a stone placed between his shoulders. He could never be rid of it.

In a second, he felt himself die again. He was back in Svartalfheim, the Dark Elf weapon sucking the life out of him. His chest contracted and he was falling suddenly, through the air, tumbling onto the dust of the Dark World. Thor's scream ringing in his ears.

"Noooo!"

But it was Loki screaming as he slipped off of Eaglebeats' back and onto the gravelled path, landing with a jarring thud. He clawed at his chest again, trying to ease the feeling of death out of his body.

He was fine. He was alive.

He clenched his teeth and eased himself up on one elbow, trying to take deep breaths. Why did this happen? He had thought that the Dark Elf stone had caused it. But now there was no Dark Elf stone around…..what had happened?

Something nudged him and he looked up to see Eaglebeats bend her head over him, ears flattened back and eyes slightly panicked. Loki held his arm up and put it across her head. Eaglebeats straightened her neck, helping Loki up with the moment of her movement.

He breathed. "I'm fine. You're fine. Am I fine?" He muttered over and over. "I'm not fine. But alive." He breathed again, glad of the air.

The sound of hoof beats jolted him out of his stupor.

"You okay, Loki?"

He turned around to see Kaia, mounted on her black gelding, trot up beside Eaglebeats. The mare lifted her head and nickered loudly in greeting to her partner.

"What makes you think something as wrong?" Loki said defensively.

Kaia looked offended. "Nothing. I thought….never mind." She kicked her black Clydesdale into a canter. She leaned in the saddle as her horse took off.

Loki watched her go. She hadn't mentioned the events of earlier. He hoped she would keep it that way.

Eaglebeats lowered her head to eye level with him and gave him a glare.

Loki almost laughed, easing the tension in his chest. "What?"

The mare snorted and paced.

"I know, your partner left you and you want to go catch up. You hate being last, do you not?" Loki grabbed her reins and jumped into the saddle, which required quite a long leap. Eaglebeats started into action as soon as he was on her back, and Loki leaned lower in the saddle. "Go, Lady Eagle."

Eaglebeats cantered smoothly to Kaia's barn. She knew the way well, and so Loki had no need to steer her at all. She stopped in front of the barn and Loki dimounted quickly, sliding down her side and landing on the earth with a quiet thump.

He grabbed Eaglebeats' reins and led her into the barn, where Kaia had already taken Sleipnir's saddle and bridle off and had tied him in cross ties.

Loki led Eaglebeats up beside Sleipnir. He knew she wasn't going anywhere as long as she was beside her companion.  
Loki then took her saddle and bridle off, and placed them in the storage place he had found while Kaia was gone to her work. He had decided to go exploring the barn, which had not resulted in much. But at least he knew where Kaia kept the saddles and bridles for her horses.

He placed them on their individual racks and almost turned around and said, "Groom my horse," until he remembered he was on earth. There were no servants or stablehands here. He would have to groom Eaglebeats himself.

Loki sighed. He wasn't looking forward to getting dirty again.

* * *

"I got it!" Kaia exclaimed to Loki, holding the typhoon spike between her two palms, aimed straight at Loki.

Loki almost exclaimed, "_Really_? Oh, that's great. I don't care!", but he held his tongue. Instead, he said, "Now try to send it outwards, away from you, and at me."

Kaia pinched her eyebrows in concentration, and the swirling horizontal spike of wind inched towards him slowly. It was good, much better than Loki himself could have done, but Loki never complimented Kaia. Kaia never asked for it. It was a mutual agreement.

He found the spike of the typhoon pointed an inch from his heart. He looked down with amusement. "Terrifying." A quick thought overrode Kaia's effort and transformed the typhoon into a cloud of green, slicing the spike to pieces.

"Dammit! Lost my hold." Kaia clenched her teeth in frustration. "You've got to stop that! I almost had it."

"Close. You've gotten better at controlling the wind." He gritted his teeth. _No compliments. No mercy. Damn. _

She nodded and went back to concentrating. She moved her hands into small circles, wind scurrying between her palms until it swirled into a horizontal spike again. "I think…don't stop me this time."

Loki crossed his arms over his chest. "Impress me."

She did. The spike elongated, moving outwards until it was a full weapon. Kaia brought her palms together. "Now to make them move outwards…." She hissed quietly and the spike shot forward suddenly.

Loki screamed in a very un-manly fashion and took off running, the meter-long drill of air pursuing him. He could hear Kaia laughing.

"Bloody Hel!" Loki flung his arms out and a barrier of green magic blew up in front of him, creating a shield. The spike hit the shield and evaporated.

Kaia was cackling maniacally. "There you go!" She wiped fake dust off her hoodie. "Don't get on my bad side next time."

Loki raised an eyebrow and released the magic he was using, causing the shield to disappear. "I do not plan on it."

Kaia rubbed her palms together. "Let me try again." She was panting, though, and Loki could see that she was hiding exhaustion behind her mask of sarcasm.

"I think we should end it here. You're close to fainting."

"No!" Kaia exclaimed. "I can totally whoop your ass again."

Loki turned around to her and began to walk towards the barn. "I'd like to see you try."

Behind him, Kaia laughed. "Okay, maybe I'm a bit tired."

Loki smiled smugly and headed towards the barn just as Jasper walked out, leading the white gelding on one lead line and Kaia's black draft on the other. Eaglebeats followed behind, reluctant to leave her herd. She was their queen and she had to watch over them.

"Jaz, you should take Spark out." Kaia called.

"I'm on it." Jasper answered, opening the gate to the field with one foot and leading the black gelding inside. Eaglebeats followed him in.

With the other hand, Jasper led his white gelding over to a small log and vaulted onto it's back, using his leadline as reins. "I'll be back in thirty."

Kaia nodded. "Sure. I've got some work to do."

Jasper kicked the gelding's sides and the horse took off.

Kaia walked over to the pasture fence and leaned both elbows on it, watching the two Clydesdales graze. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and her eyes were now purple.

Loki walked over and stood beside her, his back straight and hands clasped behind his back. Feeling the need to ease the awkward silence, he asked, "What's his name?"

"Who?" Kaia glanced up at him.

"The black gelding. You love that horse."

Kaia chuckled. "That's Sleipnir."

"Like the eight legged one?"

"That's the one. Speaking of which, didn't you give birth to the original Sleipnir? The one from the norse myths?"

Loki snorted. "Mortals. You get all your facts all wrong. Sleipnir is my father's steed."

"So you didn't fuck a horse?"

Loki hid his face in his hands. "No, no I did _not._"

He heard Kaia laughing. "It's okay, we all have problems."

Loki began to yell, "But I didn't- oh. You're making fun of me."

Kaia turned her face to him. Her eyes were green again. "So, Loki..." She began hesitantly. "What made you attack New York?"

Loki turned away from her, wanting to avoid her keen gaze. He wouldn't speak to her of his own problems.

Behind him, Kaia muttered, "Sorry." In a moment, Loki heard her leave and wondered if he had offended her in some way.

Not that he cared much, but she made him think so much of Frigga that he was pretty sure he had hurt her pride. His mother had always known when he was keeping secrets from her. She'd always been offended when he refused to tell her the truth. He could hear her now, right after Thor had brought him back from Midgard. He'd been brought into her chambers in chains, and she had been the only one kind to him.

Frigga had ordered the muzzle removed from his mouth so that he could speak. Then she had thrown her arms around him.  
Only after a moment did she begin to question him about his actions and scold him.

"What happened to you? What possessed you, Loki!?"

Loki had remained silent, enduring his mother's affection because he had to.

"So, you do not trust your own mother?" Frigga had said after a moment.

Loki wanted to scream, "You're not my mother!" Instead, he lowered his gaze and muttered, "It's nothing. I really don't have anything to tell you."

Frigga clasped her hand behind her back. "My son, your father requires answers. If you won't give them to him, at least give them to me."

"Why should I trust you?" Loki had said bitterly.

"I raised you. I know you better than you know yourself, Loki. If there's anyone you _can_ trust now, after all you've done, it's me."

"You lied to me all my life."

"I kept you safe."

"What good did that do me? What good did it do me, _mother_?!" He screamed bitterly, pushing her away and turning his back on her.

Frigga sounded both sad and shocked. "What happened to you?" She asked quietly.

Loki didn't answer her. He was seething in rage, and he did not want to look upon his mother's face because he knew she was crying.

* * *

And now she was dead and there was nothing Loki could do to apologize. His last words to her had been words of denial. The last time he had seen her, she'd been offended, but she'd still loved him.

She may have been the only person that ever loved him.

Something shoved itself into his face, a giant nose with velvety nostrils. Eaglebeats glared at him as if she could read his mind. She seemed to be saying, 'that's not entirely true."

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching him, Loki bent down and kissed the mare's velvety nose. "Yes, my Queen." He whispered.

Eaglebeats let him put his arms around her neck. She let him cry into her velvet coat, standing stoically as Loki let her see his emotions.

He had never cried twice in one day before. He had never showed this much feeling before to anyone, not even Frigga.

It felt good.

* * *

**Oh man, that was fun. I've been cackling throughout the chapter. Poor Loki, eh?**

**-eaglenation, over and out. **


	10. Vinn

Vinn was having a very bad day.

He'd gotten up that morning as the Allfather. He's dressed like the Allfather, mourned like the Allfather, refused to eat like the Allfather and acted like the Allfather.

In general, Vinn was pretty proud of his work as Odin. He'd observed and taken orders from the original Allfather enough to know how he acted. Vinn, being quite a decent actor himself, managed not to get anyone suspicious.

Until he bumped into Heimdall. Every single time he went to see Heimdall, he saw suspicion so deep in the Gatekeeper's eyes that he knew without a single doubt that Heimdall was certain he wasn't the Allfather.

But Heimdall had not said anything yet, and so Vinn woke up that morning, dressed, depressed and weary, just like the Allfather. He ate alone (he enjoyed the palace meals, as they were much better than soldier rations) and ordered around his guards. He surveyed Asgard and patrolled the palace.

The only thing that Vinn _didn't _enjoy about being the Allfather was Odin's looks. Vinn, who prided himself in being one of the most handsome guards, was used to being flocked by women. Fandral of the Warriors Three often gave him jealous looks if they ever met up.

Unfortunately, looking like the Allfather meant having as many women as the Allfather, so virtually none.

But that was an ant compared to his current problem.

That afternoon, Vinn had arrived at his chambers after a patrol of the Asgard palace corridors. Then he'd gone down to the vault to ensure that all of the object concealed there were fine. The tessaract was normal, the Jotun power source was placed on its pedestal, and all the object of danger were there. Then he'd checked the Svartalfheim stone that Loki had ordered him to bring back and present to Heimdall.

It looked fine at first glance.

Then it had begun to glow.

As far as Vinn knew, glowing was bad because it was unnatural. He'd picked up the stone carefully, and it began to emit a strange tolling-beeping noise, which had set him into a panic.

But _the Allfather never panics._ He reminded himself. A little voice in his head growled back, _yes, but the Allfather was 5,000 years older than you. Or more. _

"Shut it." Vinn murmured to the voice. He tucked the stone under his coat and called to the guards. "Get me Heimdall!"

Vinn crossed his fingers and hoped the Gatekeeper would know what to do.

Heimdall arrived in a hurry, followed by the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. Vinn immediately sent them away, but Sif stood and said, "My Lord, I believe you may require my help should need arise."

"Should need arise, I will call for you."

He tried not to flinch at Sif's glare. "Yes, my King." She said through clenched teeth and backed away."

He heard Heimdall chuckle. "Suspicious one, no?"

Vinn's head whipped towards the dark-skinned Gatekeeper. "What do you mean?"

Heimdall shook his head. "Where is Loki, guard?"

_Well, I'm doomed._ Vinn tried to keep a straight composure. "Name's Vinrien. Vinn for short."

"Son of Cadmus. I know." Heimdall turned his golden eyes to Vinn. "Tell me, where is our current embodiment of Odin?"

Vinn blinked. "Loki is on Midgard."

"I know. But why?"

"You asked me where, not why." Vinn answered flatly.

"I expect full answers from lowly guards like you."

That jibe stung, and Vinn's temper flared. "Well, this lowly guard could out wit you any day."

"I'd have to be frozen for you to even have a chance. You have the same amount of wit as cattle."

Before Vinn could think up a quipped reply, Heimdall continued, "I'm not here to exchange arguments. Why is Loki still on Midgard? And what did he do to Odin?"

Vinn held up his hands. "All I was given was threat to my life and instructions on how to be the Allfather."

"Hm." Heimdall paused, and Vinn could almost hear the calculation in his voice as he spoke again. "Do you have any idea why?"

"He said he needed to retrieve something." Vinn said.

"What?"

"Do I look like I know? You should know. You're the Gatekeeper, not me! You're supposed to 'seeth all and knoweth all'." Vinn said in an exaggerated gesture.

Heimdall snorted. "I can see into other _worlds_, not other _minds_." He sighed. "Loki is clever. He knows how to conceal himself."

"Well, yeah. Speaking of which, considering that you've already discovered my identity, why don't you turn me back into me? I hate this body. It creaks like a broken door."

Heimdall's eyes widened. "Do not dare speak of the Allfather that way! Let me never hear it again."

"Well, apparently you've never spent four days as Odin." Vinn grumbled.

"I'm older than you think." Heimdall said gravely.

Vinn sighed, "Can you change me back into myself?"

Heimdall shook his head. "That can only be done by a master of magic."

"Great. Where are the palace magicians?"

"Vinn, you can't change back."

Vinn blinked rapidly. "What? Why?!" He cried.

Heimdall put a hand on his shoulder and stared at him for a moment with those piercing golden eyes. Suddenly, he asked, "Vinn, what do you think would happen if Odin suddenly disappeared?"

Vinn nodded slowly, understanding dawning on him. "You mean if I should change back, the palace would fall into chaos?"

"The _Realms_ would."

"Oh." Vinn glanced around the palace vault, avoiding Heimdall's gaze. Suddenly, a ringing noise sounded out from under his cloak, where he had placed the Svartalfheim stone.

Heimdall's gaze followed the sound to Vinn's hand, which was now holding the stone out. "I forgot. This is why I called you." Vinn said.

Heimdall was gazing intently at the glowing stone. "That is the stone you brought back from Midgard. That's what clouded my sight."

Vinn nodded slowly. "It started glowing this morning. That's why I called for you."

Heimdall held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Vinn obeyed, placing the round orb in the Gatekeeper's palm. "So?"

Heimdall lifted the orb to eye level. "It's a communicating device." He said.

"Then why was it blocking your view of Midgard?"

"I do not know." Heimdall tapped the orb with his pointer finger. "It must block signals….but…." He turned his back to Vinn and set off, out of the doors to the palace vault and into the grand Asgardian halls. "Come!" He called.

Vinn followed.

* * *

"So?" Vinn peered over Heimdall's arm.

The Gatekeeper was seated on one of the steps that led up to the pedestal that was used to open the Bifrost. He held the stone at arms length, tapping it with his long fingers. Vinn sat beside him, observing his movements. "What is it?"

"I've told you, it's a communicating device."

"Why is it letting off those strange noises?"

"That is what puzzles me. Has it ever done this before?"

"No."

Heimdall continued to tap the orb, which lit up and glowed under his fingertips. "Curious." He said.

The beeping emitted by the orb intensified, growing steadily faster, as did Vinn's heartbeat.

With a sudden cry, Heimdall yelled and tossed the orb away from him, sending it crashing against the wall of the Bifrost. It sizzled and cracked along the edges, fractures dancing in glowing lines across the stone's surface. It suddenly ceased to beep and went still.

Then it detonated.


	11. Robot

I had Sundays off.

After working all week, both in the clinic and with Loki, I'm definitely glad for that Sunday.

I woke in the barn, as usual, to hear raised voices coming from the room above me.

Curious, I rolled myself off the hay bale, where I fell asleep in my pajamas, and scaled the ladder to Jasper's lab.

I was quite surprised to find Loki and Jasper, bent over Jasper's latest model of T.O.M. the robot.

Jasper had his hand around a screwdriver, fixing a bolt on the robot's torso, while Loki stood behind him, arms crossed over his chest. Surprisingly enough, he seemed interested.

"So, you say you can make this thing work?" Jasper said, all hatred gone from his voice.

Loki squinted, scanning the humanoid robot with his eyes. "I think so."

Jasper grinned. "I don't care how you do it, but I've been working on this guy for months. The only thing I've been missing is a power source. And I can't find it! I've tried electricity," (_that one exploded_, I recalled.) "fuel," (_that one singed your month-old beard off_) "solar power," (_Ah, so that's where that stain on the wall come from!)_ "and normal gears, but nothing gets these things going!"

"What do you want them to do?" Loki asked.

"I want them to be able to perform specific tasks I can download into their systems. The problem is, I'd like them to be able to think while they do it. I mean, something like: 'wash the dishes', and then I want them to be able to wash each spot precisely and think when they're given a complex object to wash."

"Ah." Loki glanced from Jasper to robot to Jasper again. "I can make it work. With my magic."

"B-but…." Jasper stammered.

Loki ignored him and bent over T.O.M. He tapped the robot on the head twice. I watched in fascination as his hand lit up in a green halo, bathing Jasper's dark laboratory in light. Loki then took his hand away and T.O.M.'s black onyx eyes flickered with life.

"Do. You. Require. Assistance." The microphone in the robot's back said. It whirred and tipped it's head to the side.

"Wow…" I whispered. Jasper finally saw me and beckoned me over. I crossed the room and leaned my elbows on his desk.

"You're powering it with magic?" I asked Loki. "How? Are you just making the mechanisms in it turn?"

He barely glanced at me. "It's really too simple. Figure it out."

I grinned. "Oh please. You just want me to beg you to explain it so you can show off."

"No I don't!" He mumbled. I heard him whisper, "Do I?" even though I doubted I was supposed to hear it.

"Mhm."

T.O.M. made a few whirring-clicking sounds and strode off of Jasper's desk, clattering onto the floor. He tried to stand up and failed, calling, "Powering. Down."

Jasper groaned. "Stupid motion sensors. I got those off an old Roomba iRobot."

I bent down to pick up the small metallic humanoid. He was about the size of my forearm, and he was made of intricate intertwining pieces of metal, spray-painted white. The letters _T.O.M. model VI_ were written in sharpie on his collarbone. He was a piece of work for sure, with complex buttons and gears.

"You'll get it, Jazz." I reassured my brother.

He nodded, troubled, and pried T.O.M. out of my hands. "There's a lot of work to do." He turned to Loki and asked, "Will he work if I power him on again?"

Loki nodded. "The magic will be running him until I choose to remove it."

Jasper nodded. "Well, let's get to work." He shoved me aside unceremoniously and plunked himself in front of his desk, taking out a small box from his pile of scrap metal and placing his robot in front of him as if he'd completely forgotten about everyone else.

I glanced at Loki and shrugged. "That's it then."

"Good grief." Was all the green-eyed man answered. He nudged past me, out the door, and leaped down onto the main floor of the barn.

I followed after him. "I told you you're a show off."

"I believe Thor's rubbed off on me." He answered without sparing a glance of his shoulder.

I scowled back and headed over to the tack room, picking an apple out of a bucket by the door. I proceeded to feed it to Sleipnir, who nickered in an almost grateful way, like 'thank God you fed me that or I would have died of lack-of-apples,' (which I highly doubted existed.) Loki had vanished again, but I didn't bother looking for him. Besides our training sessions, I rarely saw him. Once in a while, Eaglebeats would disappear, so I figured she was with Loki.

In reality, it felt quite nice to have another being around, even if he wasn't human and I didn't trust him entirely. Of course, I had Ben and Mitzy and some other friends at the clinic-and Jasper, of course- but it was nice having him around, though he was insufferably sarcastic.

I continued to stroke Sleipnir's nose and the proceeded to Captain Spark. The handsome old horse looked at me mournfully. "Has Jazz been neglecting you?" I asked.

Spark hung his head.

I chuckled and patted his forehead. "If he won't exercise you, then I will." I grinned and walked back to the tack room, opening the door and rummaging through one of the old wooden cabinets. I brought out a lunge line and Spark's halter. I glance mournfully at Spark's old saddle. _He could use a new one,_ I noted. _As soon as we have enough money to rebuild the house, his saddle is next_. I promised myself. It was hard putting end together what with my veterinary assistant pay and Jasper's late hours at the local Zehrs.

I turned to grab another apple from the bucket and headed back out of the tack room. My eyes fell on one of the straw bales stacked against the left wall.

And I screamed.

A skeleton was sitting on one of the straw bales, its arm propped up against its knee and a toothy grin spread across its white-bleached face. The sockets of its eyes glittered menacingly at me.

I raised my hands and backed away, taking the ready-fighting stance that Loki had taught me. Three words escaped my lips: "What the fuck?"

The skeleton waved, and I froze.

Only when the skeleton began to laugh did my heart stop hammering against my chest. The grotesque jaw let out a mocking "ehehehehehe"of laughter. I recognized that laugh and scowled. "Loki, what the hell?"

The image of the skeleton flickered and transformed into a laughing Loki, propped up against the barn wall with his eyes glimmering with mischief. "Oh, don't look so angry. It was just a bit of fun. But your face- that was priceless."

I thought about being angry. But instead, I grinned and threw my arms out, moving the air around me into a steady, focused blast that hit the side of the straw bale and sent it tipping sideways, pitching Loki off of itself and sending him sprawling onto the ground. A cloud of dust rose where he landed with a heavy thump.

Now it was my turn to laugh.

Loki lifted himself off the ground with a half-laugh, half-groan, and dusted himself off and said, "Well, there goes _that_ shirt."

I grinned. _Third one in a week_. "Seriously, we need to go shopping to find you some clothes."

"Interesting. I would accept such an endeavor, but I fear that most mortals are like you."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What's that supposed to mean, alien?"

"Well, should I list your fine qualities? You're annoying, wimpy, selfish- shall I continue?"

That last jibe stung more than it should. "I am not selfish!" I mumbled. But a little voice in my mind whispered, _or are you?_

I growled at it and turned my back to Loki.

Loki laughed again. "I was just making a jest, Kaia. I did not mean to insult you that much. You're sensitive too. I should add that to the list."

"Well, next time, make sure that's a bit clearer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a horse to exercise."

Without another word, I slipped Spark's halter (which I'd dropped earlier) onto his nose and clipped the lunge line onto him. Then I kicked open his stall door, startling Eaglebeats with the loud noise. "Sorry girl." I apologized quickly.

I tried not to meet Loki's eyes as I lead Spark out of the barn. I didn't want him to see the tears.

* * *

_Selfish!_

_Narcissistic bitch, your mother should never have had you!  
_

_You think about no one except yourself, never sharing that money you make. You leech off your brother to pay your studies!_

I couldn't understand why it hurt so much that Loki called me self-centered. I cared about others, right? I knew he was just joking, but a part of me wondered what truly went on behind those green eyes.

Had he known how much the word would affect me? _Probably not. He was just having fun.  
_  
How had he described himself before? "Mischief." That's what he'd called himself. It was just purely mischief. And it had been funny, but the accusation of calling me selfish, even if it was a joke, stung me like a thousand wasps.

I whirled with Spark's canter, leading him around the field in hypnotic circles, first at a walk, then a trot, then switch directions, then walk, then trot, then canter on two leads….my mind was a turmoil of memories and I could barely focus on the task at hand.

Maybe I'd over-reacted. Of course I had. It was ridiculous to let myself be insulted like that.

But I could still hear the word repeated over and over in my mind. Selfish.

I remembered the first day we realized there was something wrong with my father. He'd dropped a cup and begun yelling at me, his eyes filled with rage about the shards of clay on the floor. "_It's your fault I broke that cup. Entirely your fault, you selfish girl. It's your fault your mother died. Why do you exist?"_

Of course, his therapist explained it was PTSD from the army. She said not to worry, therapy would help him.

It didn't.

Spark nickered suddenly and slowed to a stop, lowering his head so that it pulled the lunge line out of my hands. "Get back to the present, Kaia. "He seemed to say.

"But you're just a horse. Horses don't understand." I muttered, but I pushed all my memories as far back into my mind as possible. _Yes, present. I have a horse to lunge, work to go to in two days, and a norse god lives in my barn. Yup, I'm good_.

I smiled genuinely. She'd have to go apologize to Loki for overreacting, even if the idiot didn't deserve it sometimes. _He's my friend, after all_. I realized. _I'd apologize to Ben or Mitzy, so why should Loki be any different? He lives with me, after all!_

I clicked my tongue and flicked the lunge line, sending Spark into a trot again. Maybe I could live in the present and forget about the past. That would be nice.


	12. Beautiful

_She is angry again._ Loki tossed a stone from hand to hand, propped up against the wall. "So perceptive about everyone except yourself."

_Sometimes I doubt I'm perceptive about anything, mother_. He should have been perceptive enough to see how insulted Kaia had been after he had called her selfish.

_Oh, come on. Even Thor does not get angry for name-calling anymore_. Part of him wondered if it was something more. If he had struck a raw nerve.

It was like back on Asgard when he was younger. Thor had always been his only friend, even as a child. Loki remembered when he had made fun of Thor, calling him a fat cow and telling him he should go join a cattle herd.

Thor had been quite upset, and he had stormed off to Odin, crying about how Loki was making fun of him again.

Thor hadn't spoken to Loki for days on end after that. Finally, dying of loneliness and boredom, Loki had gone to apologize, which was a first for him.

"I am sorry, brother. You are not a fat cow."

Thor had glanced up from the little sword he was playing with. "You think so?"

Loki grinned and said, "I guess I hate being scrawny. You're so much bigger than me and it's not fair! I guess I was jealous."

Thor had laughed and swept Loki into his arms, jabbing him in the back with his sword on accident. "Do not worry, brother, I can always protect you. You don't need to be big."

Loki had shifted uncomfortably. "Ouch." He muttered.

"Oh, so now the fat cow is squishing you?" Thor joked, squeezing Loki harder.

"Stop, brother!"

He missed those times. Deep inside, Loki missed Thor's friendship more than anything.

After he'd finally gained the throne, Loki had been so smug that he hadn't realised he was lonely.

Now he had a new friend in the shape of Kaia, and he didn't want to lose her too.

_Would he have to apologize?_ He sighed at the inevitable. That seemed to be the case, and if it was, it was better to get it over with.

Loki was about to stand up and go looking for Kaia when the sound of hoofbeats announced her return to the barn. Loki turned around to watch her bring Jasper's white gelding in and tie him in crossties. She rubbed him down and placed him back in his stall. Only then did Loki make a sound in his throat, bringing her attention to himself.

Kaia turned her head towards him, her eyes flashing from hazel to blue. "Loki! I wanted to talk to you…." She began, and Loki smirked at the irony.

"So do I. I would like to-"

"Yeah, me too. I'm sorry." Kaia said. "I overreacted. I'm too sensitive."

"Oh." Loki stayed quiet, crossing his arms over his chest. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say, because it would be the second time he would say it in his life. "If you ever tell anyone I said this, I will deny it. But I'm sorry too."

Kaia blinked. "What are you sorry for?"

"I'm apologizing for my personality. And for the fact that I cause nothing but trouble. I cannot promise it will stop-in fact, I doubt it will- but the best I can do is admit my failings." He said.

"Well, thanks, I guess. Though it wasn't your fault. And anyway, the skeleton thing was funny."

"So was throwing me off a straw bale." He could feel the tension ease between them, as if a wind was blowing it away. He picked himself off the bale and said, "Well, that's done."

"Yep." Kaia confirmed. "I'm not the type to apologize."

He smiled a bit. "Then we have something in common." He turned on his heel an beckoned to her, then headed outside towards the horse corral. He leaned his two elbows on the gate and watched as the sun set. A rustle alerted him of Kaia joining him. She leaped onto the gate, causing it to rattle.

Eaglebeats, who was grazing, pricked her ears at them.

"Well, it's nice to have you around." Kaia said after a moment. "I don't have many friends. Or any guy friends."

Loki smirked. "I don't have _any_ friends, and I plan to keep I that way."

"Mhm, so I'm not your friend? Or Jasper?"

"I did not say that."

"It was implied." He heard her chuckle. "You Asgardians are insufferable douchebags."

"I do not have friends, Kaia. Friends make me weaker, and I cannot afford that." Loki said to her, not meeting her eyes.

"I understand." She fell silent again. Loki felt her eyes on his face, studying him calmly. That feeling made him ache for Frigga again, for the way she always understood. She always knew when he was lying.

"You've lost someone." She said suddenly.

Loki started up, his head whipping towards her. So she_ was_ perceptive. "How did you know?" He asked bleakly.

Her answer was simple, "I can see it in your face."

Loki snorted. "Hm. "How do you know what the face of a person who has lost someone looks like?"

"Because I see it staring at me every morning when I look in the mirror."

He was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer. To tell or not to tell? Finally, he said, "My mother. I've lost my mother."

"I did too." Kaia said back quietly, as if for fear of disturbing the moment. "And my father."

"Ah. Then we are quite alike. Except that your father is still living, while I killed mine, in the end."

"Then we are alike." Kaia confirmed, startling him.

"You have not killed your father." Loki countered.

"He lost his mind because of me." She said sadly.

"He lost his mind because of war. It had little to do with you."

"What about you? "

"Hm? "

"What did you do for your father to die?"

He laughed so morbidly that it was hardly a laugh at all, but a sound of strangled pain. "I did kill him, the monster that I am."

"You're not a monster."  
Loki should have been flattered, but instead he just felt sad. "Ah, but I am. A creature of nightmares."

Kaia's next answer was the most surprising of all. "If this is what nightmares look like, then they must be beautiful." She said in a whisper.

Loki didn't reply, but he knew that the surprise and relief he let show in his face spoke more than words ever could. For the first time, he didn't regret coming to Midgard; it had changed Thor, and maybe now it was changing him.

Maybe he could learn. "Thank you." He said gratefully, even though he knew Kaia didn't understand what he was thanking her for. Then he walked away, carefully hiding his face from her. He tried to keep his posture, to stay dignified, but it proved more challenging then he expected.

_Loki of Jotunheim doesn't show pain, _the voice of insanity whispered in the back of his mind.

Ah, but it seems like I'm Loki of Midgard now.

_Loki of Midgard. Ha! More like Loki of the barn._

Well, he smirked, it does have a certain ring to it. 


End file.
